3 ms·
Agrarian society was only practical because a wealth of unused resources was available to each individual. Since then, we have barely managed to postpone an imp
by prodigal_erik 11y ago
Agrarian society was only practical because a wealth of unused resources was available to each individual. Since then, we have barely managed to postpone an impending Malthusian catastrophe by optimizing the crap out of high-tech agriculture. The world isn't growing, and a population of seven billion is worse off in most ways a than a population of one billion would be.
- cameron111 11y agoI think our economic system more or less makes sense. By requiring a constant trend of growth, we can spur investment and make people more inclined to take on risk, which in general serves us better than not. As I mentioned in [0] (linked above), if we can get the fertility rate back up for another 100 years in order to drive good growth, I believe we will be able to eliminate most forms of scarcity. From there, we will have more flexibility. For now, in a world of scarcity and competition, if we continue to perish without replacement, we are risking everything. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11076964 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11076964