For many years, people have progressed to improve their lives. The necessity for improvement and progression led to the invention of machines. It is what brought humanity into modernism, globalization, and finally the establishment of Rocket Internet. Although machines are able to help people with their everyday lives and certain labor-intensive jobs, they have also caused people to regress into a state of confusion.

In All That Is Solid Melts Into Air, Berman discusses the confusion and struggle people had with modernism. Although machines were able to help labor workers with their jobs, it had also brought along “a great absence and emptiness of values and yet, at the same time, a remarkable abundance of possibilities” (Berman 21). Ironically, this regression came as a by-product of efforts for advancements. Foucault’s sadistic critique of modernism also speaks of modernism and machines as “the modern technologies of power that take life as their objects” (Berman 34).

A similar theme can be found in Ulrich Beck’s What is Globalization? Technology has helped companies expand and globalize. The government has also helped companies with this expansion by implementing tax cuts. However, these efforts have not been able to improve the conditions of the country itself. Rather, companies are paying less tax, the income gap between the rich and the poor are growing, and the government is left with the responsibility of assisting the unemployed. Where technology has helped certain Fortune 500 companies in earning the most profit, it has also prevented the expansion of humanity at the personal level.

Finally, Rocket Internet, a conglomerate that creates businesses from existing ideas is a progression from traditional businesses, but also a regression from ideas. This company creates and expands businesses from existing ideas. Although this may be profitable, it does not include room for new inventions or improvements. Rather, this business model limits itself to the “low-risk e-commerce ventures” (The Ecoomist).

In understanding the complex 21^st-century, it is important to note that advancements made to everyday life can also be a setback. While inventions can redefine people’s lives, they can also restrict. For example, the invention of cellphones has improved communication between people, but they have also led people to send messages whilst sitting at dinner tables.

– Melody Mark