http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo_250X250.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Background_1024X576.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Banner_686X60.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Half-Banner_234X60.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo_250X250 http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo-Watermark_250X250.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Background_1024X576.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Half-Banner-ALT_234X60.jpg Bigthink http://www.bigthink.com/feed/rss/comment/idea/3844 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:08:24 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/3844 It's not unthinkable that mankind will soon come to the conclusion that the earth can only sustain so many people. Science and technology will continue to support the growth of civilization, however it is obvious that we are depleting our resources faster than our scientists are replenishing them and our engineers are preserving them. So it is possible that as materials become more scarce our civilization will alter it's motivation from less of an ownership society to a society based upon status and reproduction rights. We will then have to base our growth upon a standard of living set by the people and science. Everything will be ok, the path of least resistance will guide us to the future. Though it may be a bumpy road, hopefully our leaders will make this transition easier. Bigthink Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:51:07 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/3844/#24256 http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/3844 We could have done this 20,000, 2,000, 200, or 20 years ago and this world would be a significantly worse place to live. It is certainly not obvious that growth cannot continue for much longer. It would be unsustainable for a population of 7 billion and growing to live on this planet working in nothing but farming, logging, mining, and manufacturing, but the same population in a mainly service economy is a different story altogether. It is a telling fact that the most pressing problem of the poor in today's America is not starvation, but obesity. We should focus less on the differences between the rich in 2008 and the poor in 2008 and more on the differences between the poor in 2008 and the poor in 1808 or in 8. This is the legacy of growth- a much higher standard of living for all. Also, have you read Atlas Shrugged? Ayn Rand has an intriguing prediction of what would happen if the fruits of the producers' minds were charitably distributed according to the needs of others. Bigthink Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:43:56 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/3844/#22664