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JFK's actual moonshot 1. required no sacrifice, 2. And wasn't a coordination between people to sacrifice That's the problem we face in dealing with environment
by graeme 9y ago
JFK's actual moonshot 1. required no sacrifice, 2. And wasn't a coordination between people to sacrifice
That's the problem we face in dealing with environmental challenges. People have a short run incentive to defect and exploit the environment.
- golergka 9y agoHow are billions of taxpayer's money not a sacrifice?
- enraged_camel 9y agoSacrifice means giving up something in return for another thing that is worth much less (or nothing) in value. Most people, especially on HN, would argue that the Apollo program has yielded enormous benefits for America. And it cost only $25 billion - about as much as Trump’s border wall (the cost estimates for which are most likely grossly optimistic).
- golergka 9y agoOK, so the only thing we disagree is the definition of "sacrifice".
- graeme 9y agoIt's a sacrifice in the same sense that running the DMV or building a bridge is a sacrifice. But, most countries have no trouble organizing that kind of sacrifice. We have had public works, bureaucracy and infrastructure spending for thousands of years. In most cases it means taking a small amount from many people. But, willfully reducing economic growth worldwide? To say to an individual "You, personally, could improve your material circumstances with this land, but we won't let you"? That's a sacrifice, and a game theory problem. Even if both goals are equally worthy, the latter type of situation will be far harder to co-ordinate than the former.
- pohl 9y agoBut, most countries have no trouble organizing that kind of sacrifice. Ouch, that hurts. Kick us while we’re down.