Robert Samuelson:
The legacy of Steve Jobs: I do not own an iPad, an iPhone, an iPod or a Mac. I abandoned my typewriter only recently. In short, I have not enlisted in the digital revolution….
By history’s measure, [Steve] Jobs’s achievements are tiny. Transforming the music industry is not the same as transforming society. There are many technological advances that had a far larger impact on society: antibiotics, air travel, air conditioning and television. By contrast, many of Apple’s products are gadgets, as commentators have noted. Their ultimate social impact may be less than Facebook’s….
[Jobs's]modest legacy will fade with time. A century from now, historians and ordinary Americans will still remember Edison and Ford. Jobs will be a footnote, if that.
You know, a bunch of times over the past decade people have told me that they were surprised when talking to Robert Samuelson about how little he had read, and how much he did not know.
I think now we understand why...
