Yesterday, one of my loyal reader and friend (William Bocq) voiced his disagreement with my daily blog. One of my avatars responded to him briefly but quite ineffectively. Today, I'll attempt to straighten things out. What my blog was about wasn't so much about the laws of economics (even though I foolishly mentioned capitalism,) but was more about the fallacy of never-ending growth and universal enrichment which has been one of the pillar of the capitalist doctrine.
During Adam Smith's life, the world population was estimated to be at 800,000 people, so overpopulation was a non-issue. While it's agreed that population grow may slow down, no one knows for sure, as the UN estimates for the 22nd century fall inside a bracket comprised between 5 and 14 billion.
I also agree that the law of supply and demand would quickly force some drastic adjustment on the way humans have to deal with dire situations, but my point was to state that, in an overcrowded world, it might be time to switch “currency” and let go of the sacrosanct “growth standard” for something that is more sustainable in the foreseeable future.
Posts
2 comments:
Alas too true! But you are considering changing human nature, and that, my friend, is a mountain no one, god or human, has ever climbed. Mankind is hardwired for growth, be its culture Judaeo-Christian or anything else (maybe with the exception of Buddhism), it drives toward achievement. Since spiritual achievement is only measurable (in some cases) when you are dead (you get to be canonized), we all strive for material markers, even those who are communists or utopists. So the only check is supply and demand, and nature. Supply and demand started when the first man killed his first mammoth, before the invention of the walk-in freezer. Even his wife had too many hand bags and fur coats, whose prices fell off. That raised the price of vegetables (that old balanced diet problem).
Nature also provides its own checks, throwing plagues and famine when population grows too far.
The future is bleak, as bleak as the past: we will continue to fight for food, plasma screens and beliefs until the last woman stands (has to be a woman, otherwise we are doomed) and start again.
...and I am an optimist!
When I get old, I will move to a cabin in the mountains with my wife (who will probably end up killing me after putting up with me every hours of every day), my satellite dish (TV and telephone), my 4G iPad and 40/40 winchester (for food not delivered by FreshDirect), and watch mankind beat itself to extinction on CNN.
Gotta go, I need to call my merc dealer for a tune up.
Be cool Jeff.
Bill
Well, all these calamities are tame in comparison to what Aron Ralston had to endure in Utah's Canyonland (127 hour - I finally saw the movie you recommended,) so I will have to rely from this point forward on my nascent faith in the "invisible hand" (absolutely no pun intended!)
Post a Comment