[...] Production begins to mimic, in its material organisation, the versatility of taste. This is what Robert Boyer has called the 'variety economy', which has led to a decline in the rule of economies of scale; these are still sought after, but now they have to take into account variety economies (multi-purpose equipment) and learning economies. The latter involve capturing and retaining a maximum number of users in networks that provide their subscribers with positive externalities, in other words with free services or goods in exchange for loyalty to norms or technical standards that constitute a guarantee for future sales of products or services. If the economy is becoming increasingly flexible (a transition that many industries are finding very hard to make), it is because the central core of value rests now on immaterialities.