Discussion Thread Topic: Approaching the Olduvai Cliff?
Posted on: 29-Jun 2007, 04:28 PM
Mind wrote: "Good things humans are rational and we have a relatively free market. Malthus did not include human ingenuity in his projections of mass starvation. Neither did Ehrlich. How many of us here think people are going to just keep on using more and more electricity until the world stops going? The blackout of 2003 caused quite a stir and people are working on solutions. They don't just sit by and say "oh well, I guess the world will end now...nothing I can do" When gas prices rise people buy smaller cars and drive less. If the supply of electricity runs short, the price will go up, and people will conserve - or get to work developing new sources of electricity and power. And... the great thing is...the people who develop new sources of electricity will get rich."
I replied: "Humanity apparently faces numerous existential challenges, many of them involve collective action problems. I think it's an open question whether "people" are going to successfully solve every colllection action problem we face. with some, irrationality may triumph. With others, even if we're asymptotically rational our abilities may not meet the demands of the challenge. Alternatively, we might be lucky enough that as a species we can solve all these challenges. I do think you and I are vested in these challenges being solved, Mind. But I'm wary of whether it's a functional opiate to rely passively on "human ingenuity", rationality, or free markets. These sounds like tools to help the two of us (and others persist), not magical suits of invincible armor.
Comments