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Progress depends on people or, the economy in general, progressing. If everyone is happy where they are and want no more, there is no need to innovate and prog
by mc32 5y ago
Progress depends on people or, the economy in general, progressing. If everyone is happy where they are and want no more, there is no need to innovate and progress stops. That may be fine if we think we have achieved all we need to achieve as a society or species but most think we have a bit of a ways to go still before we can declare victory.
- misnome 5y agoWhat about people who are made happy by innovating and progressing?
- mc32 5y agoWhen social support for that goes away, it's only the "crazy" who would do that just because. But without societal support it's a dead-end. There are countries with lots of people --but whose contribution to innovation is substandard. There is no societal support so innovation is stunted. It’s like thinking justice will happen just because… No, it happens because society supports justice. Justice or innovation don’t just “happen”.
- soco 5y agoWhy should innovation lose support? It would fall under "people do what they like" so the innovators would go on innovating. And if the innovations bring even more to the society of course they will be adopted.
- mc32 5y agoLet’s look at the Soviet Union to Russia transition. The state no longer had the same demand for space innovation. Their tech sector has stagnated. People didn’t carry on just because they could.
- hiptobecubic 5y agoInnovation does just happen, but only under circumstances that need it. People support it because it makes their lives easier. If it doesn't do that then honestly who cares? Don't confuse innovation in general with how many startups the country has.
- mc32 5y agoThere has to be some pull. If people are conditioned to be happy with say UBI + Netflix and conditioned to think that you should have a small impact on the planet (little consumption) and your daily needs met (food, shelter) innovation will go down in a generation or so. [to answer weakfish who appears "dead": no it's not wrong to revert to a subsistence existence, but it has trade-offs. Just be aware of the trade-offs.]
- weakfish 5y ago
- TheOtherHobbes 5y agoIn the US a lot of people are very, very unhappy. The lack of real political and economic agency for most of the population is one of the defining features of US capitalism.
- NoImmatureAdHom 5y agoCitation needed. There are all sorts of measures of gross happiness out there.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- el_ravager 5y agoWhy bring in outside materials into this conversation? Do we lack the capacity for reason?