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I disagree that wealth is limited (we can mine an exhaustless supply of minerals for instance). But he nails everything else.
by exabrial 5y ago
I disagree that wealth is limited (we can mine an exhaustless supply of minerals for instance). But he nails everything else.
- lwouis 5y ago> we can mine an exhaustless supply of minerals for instance Humanity is headed towards shortages of many critical metals, such a copper, within this century, with consequences on price and availability already felt and predicted to be a major geo-political issue within a few decades
- exabrial 5y agoI disagree. We're short iridium, We're not short copper. We don't have an efficient way to extract it, from either waste or from raw materials. That's also the other side of it: we're short better wiring materials/technologies because copper is 'good enough' at it's price point.
- cweill 5y agoI missed the part where he says that wealth is limited. Doesn't he says that wealth creation is a positive-sum game (I.e. 1+1=3 thanks to automation and leverage), as opposed to status which limited and its pursuit is a zero-sum game? Wouldn't that mean that wealth is unlimited?
- exabrial 5y ago> Most of the wealth in civilization, in fact all of it, has been created. After re-reading your comment, I realize I think I misterpreted this sentence. He's not saying the total future value has already been created, he's saying the past value was worked for
- developer93 5y agoEventually wealth relies on some physical resource somewhere down the line, so it's also not true imo. Wealth is remote from limits but not limitless I would say.
- developer93 5y agoYou think there's some mineral machine underground churning out ore indefinitely? How do you think mineral formation works?