Google Glass

Google Glass

The new "connected eyeware", Google Glass, provides an excellent example of the economic innovation that contract enforcement, technology development, private entrepreneurial investment yield.  While the article was an initial report on a conspicuous barge located in the San Francisco Bay, which was later confirmed to be a future "floating Google store", the background is a profound example of many modern economic institutions that have brought prosperity to modern states and individuals.

Several miraculous economic stimulants and safeguards were casually mentioned throughout the article. The first was the description of leasing agreements, which are enforced by the United States courts, and allow economic agreements to take place without fear of a contractual partner reneging on the terms. The second was the mention of a patent for a water-based cooling system for data centers. Patents allow entrepreneurs to make major informational and financial investments to innovate their industries without having their patented ideas stolen by business competitors. The third, a regulation on business by the state, is the requirement of a permit to dock the barge near the San Franciscan shoreline, which would require the permit to be purchased from the city. In short, political institutions may implement a variety of policies that bring about economic prosperity as well as legislate regulations on businesses, some of which allow the state to extract some of the profits both directly and indirectly.