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> scaling back shit that nobody needs. Do we know what nobody needs, for real? Sure, there might be some low-hanging fruit, but this seems like an area where C
by wwweston 7y ago
> scaling back shit that nobody needs.
Do we know what nobody needs, for real? Sure, there might be some low-hanging fruit, but this seems like an area where Chesterton's fence would apply in spades, lest our judgments age as well as Rick Perry talking about the Department of Energy.
And there's also the fact that it's demand for non-essential things that employs the large portion of people who moved out of farming and other necessities because we got good enough at production that they didn't need to be there.
We might be able figure out how to fund productive things that incentives don't automatically align for, but this sounds trickier than it might seem at first glance.
- tsimionescu 7y agoGiven the lack of any incentives to prioritize productive work and useful products over feel-good products, it would actually be strange to discover that the economy is actually only producing useful items.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoIndeed. In particular, one of the biggest and richest industries exists primarily to artificially induce demand for things that aren't needed.
- scotty79 7y ago> Do we know what nobody needs, for real? Fashion, advertising. You probably know the few. Free market under covid pressure will tell us what was the unnecessary crap that was basically just excuse to pay people so they can live.