3 ms·

"I can't fight it" and "I may as well prepare for it" doesn't have to mean war. It might instead involve abandoning an economy built on infinite growth, even a

"I can't fight it" and "I may as well prepare for it" doesn't have to mean war. It might instead involve abandoning an economy built on infinite growth, even at the expense of some material wealth.

martythemaniak 7y ago
Have you ever tried to convince real people of that? Parents? Ones in developing countries in particular? Fusion and space colonization seem pretty easy in comparison, at least to me.
- ficklepickle 7y ago
  It's true. Humans seem unwilling to entertain any reduction in convenience. It's funny, because maintaining the status quo will result in a much larger inconvenience. We are too smart for our own good, but not smart enough by half.
philwelch 7y ago
Economic growth doesn’t necessitate consuming more resources. In fact, it often necessitates consuming fewer resources. Netflix today has four times the annual revenue Blockbuster had at its peak. Which company consumed more natural resources? Which kind of car is more valuable, a Tesla Model S or a Ford Explorer? Which one consumes petroleum products? Economic value is a measure of the value delivered to some customer, as measured by that customer’s willingness to pay for it. If I want to watch a movie, I don’t care whether or not somebody has to manufacture a hard plastic cassette or disk, in fact I’d rather they didn’t and they’d rather save the expense if there’s any alternative. If I want to drive somewhere I don’t fundamentally give a damn if the car is powered by the gasoline in the tank or by a hydroelectric dam in the mountains so long as I can get where I want to go in style and comfort. Efficiently allocating scarce resources is the entire object of the game—and if you add up everyone’s score at the end of the year, you have a measure of economic growth.

3 ms·

"I can't fight it" and "I may as well prepare for it" doesn't have to mean war. It might instead involve abandoning an economy built on infinite growth, even a

by omginternets 7y ago

"I can't fight it" and "I may as well prepare for it" doesn't have to mean war. It might instead involve abandoning an economy built on infinite growth, even at the expense of some material wealth.

martythemaniak 7y ago
Have you ever tried to convince real people of that? Parents? Ones in developing countries in particular? Fusion and space colonization seem pretty easy in comparison, at least to me.
- ficklepickle 7y ago
  It's true. Humans seem unwilling to entertain any reduction in convenience. It's funny, because maintaining the status quo will result in a much larger inconvenience. We are too smart for our own good, but not smart enough by half.
philwelch 7y ago
Economic growth doesn’t necessitate consuming more resources. In fact, it often necessitates consuming fewer resources. Netflix today has four times the annual revenue Blockbuster had at its peak. Which company consumed more natural resources? Which kind of car is more valuable, a Tesla Model S or a Ford Explorer? Which one consumes petroleum products? Economic value is a measure of the value delivered to some customer, as measured by that customer’s willingness to pay for it. If I want to watch a movie, I don’t care whether or not somebody has to manufacture a hard plastic cassette or disk, in fact I’d rather they didn’t and they’d rather save the expense if there’s any alternative. If I want to drive somewhere I don’t fundamentally give a damn if the car is powered by the gasoline in the tank or by a hydroelectric dam in the mountains so long as I can get where I want to go in style and comfort. Efficiently allocating scarce resources is the entire object of the game—and if you add up everyone’s score at the end of the year, you have a measure of economic growth.