For example, if you extrapolate the resources Americans and Western Europeans use per capita (water, electricity, oil, etc.) to the entire world's population, y

For example, if you extrapolate the resources Americans and Western Europeans use per capita (water, electricity, oil, etc.) to the entire world's population, you at the very least have some serious technological challenges to avoid hitting limits. I'm almost certain this is going to come off more Whiggish than I intend it to, but do you believe this was true in 1912/1812/1512/12AD? I'd be willing to bet it was. In fact, I think I'd go further and be willing to guess that the further you go back, the more inconceivable equality of resource use becomes (again without the explicit implication this is an unbreakable line upwards).