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Wouldn't just a change in the way we view our economy work? If a lot of the emissions come from creating GDP, why not take a break, live off our assets,like whe

Wouldn't just a change in the way we view our economy work? If a lot of the emissions come from creating GDP, why not take a break, live off our assets,like when Covid initially happened... i'd continue but would probably get buried as a utopian (tbh it seems like businesses a machines getting people create more machines while getting very little actual return...)

kragen 5y ago
Coordination problem: whoever takes a break gets invaded, overthrown, and annexed by whoever doesn't.
- screenbreakout 5y ago
  Really? Let's take the case of Switzerland, everyone wants to go there, they are literally spending money to supress the increasing exchange rate to avoid a collaps of exports... what would happen if they took a years break.. I mean maybe it would be better, letting the CHF, go higher , allowing the swiss to leave to greener pastures, allowing others to visit such a beautiful country (and use the empty living space from departed swiss , foreigners)... Maybe what we need is radical capitalism, but all we have the balls for is corporate nepotism?
  - kragen 5y ago
    A year's break? You mean, nobody work for a year? The death rate would skyrocket as the Swiss died from easily treatable medical problems like appendicitis. Everyone in a nursing home would be dead after a few days, and you'd have mass starvation and riots in every city within weeks. No food would be planted or harvested, so even when the truckers and supermarket workers began to work again the starvation would not end. Politicians in neighboring countries would invade to "restore order" and reopen the banks where their savings are stored.
    - screenbreakout 5y ago
      I'm sorry on what planet do you live? Up to the point of food (and probably after) I was thinking you were being ironic, but though HN are reputed for humor, could you not humour me and explain why food prices would skyrocket? Basic foodstuffs are cheap, even in Switzerland, 500g of good cheap brown bread at Migros cost 1$... noone is taking noones savings away, according to google Switzerland spent almost 17B$supporting the swiss franc in 2021... yes the common joke is swiss are apoplectic at having to stop work (thereby dying of appendicitis?) however reality is they have one of the highest suicide rates currently , due to burnout? and imo are a society where fear of the future is one prevalently to keep (people)change in check...
      - 0xffff2 5y ago
        If everyone "takes a break", then how does your average city dweller acquire food? The naieve reading of the phrase "why not take a break" would imply that no one is staffing the supermarkets, no one is driving trucks to deliver food to supermarkets, no one is farming at commercial scale, etc. Perhaps you need more specificity in what "take a break" means.
      - DanBC 5y ago
        > however reality is they have one of the highest suicide rates currently Where are you getting your Swiss suicide statistics from please? How are you de-coupling assisted deaths from other suicide?
      - kragen 5y ago
        I live on Earth, you're ignoring my questions, and I'm flagging your post. Try to do better.
        screenbreakout 5y ago
        Flag? Really... that's mean :-) but here goes I'll try to answer your questions/concerns and those of 0xfff2 in one go "You mean, nobody work for a year?" Yes, to the extent they want to do something why not look at it and see if it's usefull, helpful, or just using their time and polluting the environment? Once the obligation to go to work goes away, habits, needs, wants, perspective change "Everyone in a nursing home would be dead after a few days," this statement I don't understand, I've been in EMS's as the french speakers call them.... and beyond having a high cost, many of those old people could be adequately cared for at home...or use a helper occasionally in a much more efficient/economical manner "No food would be planted or harvested, so even when the truckers and supermarket workers began to work again the starvation would not end" Figures say ...? 6% of imports are food and beverages..., when people have time they cook, so use of basic foodstuffs would go up, that of expensive, overly packaged foodstuffs (dissapear) one would hope, I answered this question inasmuch as pointing out food in general is cheap... Switzerland is currently sitting on a huge amount of wealth that is stuck in real estate, pressure for an appreciating CHf (on which they are using debt to counter more than 2k per Swiss person) "no one is staffing the supermarkets, no one is driving trucks to deliver food to supermarkets, no one is farming at commercial scale" Open markets are a thing, self driving trucks too, automatic check outs ...vending machines...as for commercial farming it's gotten out of hand... I studied horticulture and personally avoid supermarket food in Switzerland, it's tastless, expensive and in many cases over packaged... come to Eastern Europe...for flavour, If people were to have more free time, don't you think, the great outside , gardening, cooking and sharing good food would be one of their préoccupations? A simple google search turns up "It has one of the highest sucide rates in Europe, in 2014, 1,029 people committed non-assisted suicide (754 men, 275 women), for a rate of 12.5 per 100,000 (18.5 male, 6.6 female). Not included are 742 assisted suicides (320 men, 422 women); most of the assisted suicides concerned elderly people suffering from a terminal disease." Tldr I understand the misgivings my "naive" statements produce, but plead for people to open their minds to other potential lifestyles that could really help combat CC...

kragen 5y ago

Coordination problem: whoever takes a break gets invaded, overthrown, and annexed by whoever doesn't.

screenbreakout 5y ago
Really? Let's take the case of Switzerland, everyone wants to go there, they are literally spending money to supress the increasing exchange rate to avoid a collaps of exports... what would happen if they took a years break.. I mean maybe it would be better, letting the CHF, go higher , allowing the swiss to leave to greener pastures, allowing others to visit such a beautiful country (and use the empty living space from departed swiss , foreigners)... Maybe what we need is radical capitalism, but all we have the balls for is corporate nepotism?
- kragen 5y ago
  A year's break? You mean, nobody work for a year? The death rate would skyrocket as the Swiss died from easily treatable medical problems like appendicitis. Everyone in a nursing home would be dead after a few days, and you'd have mass starvation and riots in every city within weeks. No food would be planted or harvested, so even when the truckers and supermarket workers began to work again the starvation would not end. Politicians in neighboring countries would invade to "restore order" and reopen the banks where their savings are stored.
  - screenbreakout 5y ago
    I'm sorry on what planet do you live? Up to the point of food (and probably after) I was thinking you were being ironic, but though HN are reputed for humor, could you not humour me and explain why food prices would skyrocket? Basic foodstuffs are cheap, even in Switzerland, 500g of good cheap brown bread at Migros cost 1$... noone is taking noones savings away, according to google Switzerland spent almost 17B$supporting the swiss franc in 2021... yes the common joke is swiss are apoplectic at having to stop work (thereby dying of appendicitis?) however reality is they have one of the highest suicide rates currently , due to burnout? and imo are a society where fear of the future is one prevalently to keep (people)change in check...
    - 0xffff2 5y ago
      If everyone "takes a break", then how does your average city dweller acquire food? The naieve reading of the phrase "why not take a break" would imply that no one is staffing the supermarkets, no one is driving trucks to deliver food to supermarkets, no one is farming at commercial scale, etc. Perhaps you need more specificity in what "take a break" means.
    - DanBC 5y ago
      > however reality is they have one of the highest suicide rates currently Where are you getting your Swiss suicide statistics from please? How are you de-coupling assisted deaths from other suicide?
    - kragen 5y ago
      I live on Earth, you're ignoring my questions, and I'm flagging your post. Try to do better.
      - screenbreakout 5y ago
        Flag? Really... that's mean :-) but here goes I'll try to answer your questions/concerns and those of 0xfff2 in one go "You mean, nobody work for a year?" Yes, to the extent they want to do something why not look at it and see if it's usefull, helpful, or just using their time and polluting the environment? Once the obligation to go to work goes away, habits, needs, wants, perspective change "Everyone in a nursing home would be dead after a few days," this statement I don't understand, I've been in EMS's as the french speakers call them.... and beyond having a high cost, many of those old people could be adequately cared for at home...or use a helper occasionally in a much more efficient/economical manner "No food would be planted or harvested, so even when the truckers and supermarket workers began to work again the starvation would not end" Figures say ...? 6% of imports are food and beverages..., when people have time they cook, so use of basic foodstuffs would go up, that of expensive, overly packaged foodstuffs (dissapear) one would hope, I answered this question inasmuch as pointing out food in general is cheap... Switzerland is currently sitting on a huge amount of wealth that is stuck in real estate, pressure for an appreciating CHf (on which they are using debt to counter more than 2k per Swiss person) "no one is staffing the supermarkets, no one is driving trucks to deliver food to supermarkets, no one is farming at commercial scale" Open markets are a thing, self driving trucks too, automatic check outs ...vending machines...as for commercial farming it's gotten out of hand... I studied horticulture and personally avoid supermarket food in Switzerland, it's tastless, expensive and in many cases over packaged... come to Eastern Europe...for flavour, If people were to have more free time, don't you think, the great outside , gardening, cooking and sharing good food would be one of their préoccupations? A simple google search turns up "It has one of the highest sucide rates in Europe, in 2014, 1,029 people committed non-assisted suicide (754 men, 275 women), for a rate of 12.5 per 100,000 (18.5 male, 6.6 female). Not included are 742 assisted suicides (320 men, 422 women); most of the assisted suicides concerned elderly people suffering from a terminal disease." Tldr I understand the misgivings my "naive" statements produce, but plead for people to open their minds to other potential lifestyles that could really help combat CC...