The difference between pre-industrial and now is that you now not only have to find a product/service to sell but you have to find something that the large wallmart style corporations can't do quicker, better and cheaper than you can.
Even small software companies now have the risk of Apple etc completely removing their distribution channel on a whim
or a larger software company (or open source project) just replicating their entire product.
>a larger software company (or open source project) just replicating their entire product.
Agreed for products that are specific service, but if your product is driven by a users(facebook and twitter for example), it's damn near impossible for other companies to push you out of the way and achieve the same results once you reach a large enough user base. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, especially between generations of software, but usually not concurrently. (google+ vs facebook?)
Therein lies roughly the same problem though.
It's not really practical for anybody to start a new social network unless you think you can compete with the likes of facebook / google+ etc.
It's a go big or go home type game and requires a fair amount of risk. It's not really a career choice in the same way as doing a trade would be.
True, post-industrial society has forced everyone to act like traders and back in the day no one wanted to be a trader because you had to contend with guild monopolies, merchant princes, thieves making off with your goods, wolves in the brush, having your ship sink, having your horse go lame from beneath you, and ofcourse... the excessive taxes leveed against anyone not doing exactly what the extablishment wanted.
At least now adays, we don't have to worry about wolves.
Even small software companies now have the risk of Apple etc completely removing their distribution channel on a whim or a larger software company (or open source project) just replicating their entire product.