Of course, when a group of cells in our body starts claiming an entitlement to grow, irrespective of the ultimate consequences, we call that "cancer".
Pure technological growth is the legacy of the invention and innovation we have inherited from previous generations. After all, most invention is a novel recombination of already existing material, techniques, etc. ... sometimes with a little bit of new discovery added, sometimes just the novel recombination of what already existed ... but the pace of invention accelerates, and has been accelerating over the past 20,000 years at least, because the more each generation inherits, the more new combinations each generation can contribute to the legacy.
And that is the primary reversion of social philosophy that is required ... both with respect to technology and even more critically with respect to the ecological systems that we depend upon for life support ... that we are at most custodians, receiving a legacy for prior generations, and responsible for handing that legacy on, augmented rather than degraded, to the generations to follow.
This is, of course, a social philosophy that many indigenous peoples incorporate into their societies, since of course there are a long chain of previous overshoots and collapses in our time on this planet, and many opportunities to learn these particular lessons. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
This is, of course, a social philosophy that many indigenous peoples incorporate into their societies, since of course there are a long chain of previous overshoots and collapses in our time on this planet, and many opportunities to learn these particular lessons.
That and the fact that those who failed to learn the lesson are no longer with us today. That last point is, perhaps, an even stronger lesson in the importance of not defecating in your own nest.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
