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What does one think? How would these 'stupid' people adapt to the rapid acceleration of technology?
OK, let's see...
There's no such thing as "post scarcity". There's only changes in what is scarce.
Economics:Entrepreneurship isn't Physics:Engineering. (Oh, and Austrian economics actually works in the sense of predicting what happens in the real world.)
The Luddites were a group of people who felt entitled to keep the old ways, no matter the consequences to other people. (One of the modern equivalents is the MPAA/RIAA, which buys legislation against the obsolescence of their business model.)
Solar power isn't getting better (in the sense of more power per square meter), just cheaper. Solar on the surface just doesn't have the power density to replace power plants.
Major understanding failure: The elimination of fossil fuels won't make oil useless in a world where everyone makes all (or most of) their own consumer goods on their 3D printer.
I agree with evensgrey. The two driving principles of economics are: resources are finite, and desires are infinite. No matter how plentiful resources may APPEAR to be, they will NEVER satisfy 100% of everybody's desires. Therefore there will ALWAYS be room for people to find jobs helping someone take some of these finite resources and using them to satisfy some of his infinite desires.
And I don't think fossil fuels will EVER be eliminated, just minimized. I think the power of the future will be SOME fossil, SOME solar, SOME wind, SOME nuclear, etc.
Well, the actual fossil fossil fuels with eventually fall out of use (since it will eventually become cheaper to use other sources for those molecules).
For instance, I understand that India has quite a petrochemical industry, except that it isn't actually petrochemical because it doesn't use oil as the base feedstock, but (otherwise) waste vegetable matter.
Quote from: evensgrey on April 08, 2012, 08:28:30 PM
Well, the actual fossil fossil fuels with eventually fall out of use (since it will eventually become cheaper to use other sources for those molecules).
For instance, I understand that India has quite a petrochemical industry, except that it isn't actually petrochemical because it doesn't use oil as the base feedstock, but (otherwise) waste vegetable matter.
produce more of that, and we'll have enough to cover the demand for plastics and synthetic sponges, etc. assuming of course that fossil feul and synthetics' use for automobilesl will be minimized.
that is, unless govco imposes some novel (or just extends a preexisting) "protection" law.