Maintaining current levels of wealth is impossible given the amount of land.
Currently, our global wealth depends upon finite commodities, most notably metals (precious and semi-precious) and oil. Neither of these things are being produced anymore.
We need arable, mineral and oil rich land, things which are rapidly disappearing.
China has lost something like 1/3 of its arable land in the past 50 years due to massive deforestation and shortsighted farming methods. Many other countries have experienced desertification, and climate change has exacerbated this process.
If Montana or Texas had the population densities of many asian countries, per capita wealth (relative) would decline to levels at or below those of the more densely populated countries. This is also in addition to water quality, pollution, and dietary issues that would occur due to massive overpopulation.
As it stands now, ONE COUNTRY, Japan, has almost successfully overfished the worlds' oceans. This is a consequence of their exceedingly high population on a small landmass. Although per capita impact tends to decline over time in densely populated areas, TOTAL impact still rises. As this happens, further mineral (NON RENEWABLE) use also increases in a TOTAL fashion, while per capita wealth decreases.
The environmental impact of extremely dense populations upon surrounding areas would cause massive ecological deterioration due to edge effects, as well as any increased infrastructure would further break up already fragmented ecosystems. Unfortunately for the planet, these ecosystems play a vital part in the water, nutrient and energy cycles. If land use, globally, reached levels that were similar to those in the most heavily populated areas, per capita wealth would decline dramatically, ecological disasters would become routine, and NO, people would not live very fun or wealthy lives.
In this sense, yeah, we have run out of land. We've run out of land in the sense that AT THE POINT WE ARE ALREADY AT, we no longer have untouched arable land. It is possible to make desert into an oasis, but eventually the water tables will sink to the bedrock, or you will have to desalinate gross quantities of seawater AT TREMENDOUS ENERGETIC COST.
Imagine if the whole world was like Dubai. You can have lots of people, great technology and good quality of life for SOME, but in general it will be energetically costly, if not prohibitive, and the vast majority of people will be living substandard lives. So yeah, we have fucking run out of land.
(but we have land)
If you count desert, permafrost (not so permanent these days) and ecological areas which are necessary for PLANETARY SURVIVAL, then yeah, sure we do.
The world needs green space in order to sustain life. We can only push against the natural order for so long before the cycles fall out of normal and hit us right in the back of the head. Human civilisation shows record after record of this overuse of resources, collapse of society and rebuilding on undamaged land. We are currently a bit short on undamaged land.
If you want to look at the real culprits of global warming, don't look at oil, don't look at plastics or emissions. Look at what happened to the East China Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the new deserts in Spain, Portugal and China. When new deserts are created we lose massive carbon sinks that are critical in maintaining a balanced biosphere. The loss of those areas is catastrophic, in the loss of potential food sources, livable areas and the ultimate global effects that this decline will have.
Things might seem fine in your backyard, but we are seriously pretty fucked.
Further Reading: http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=21714139#itemanchor_21714139
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Chat Log
The issue is that fiscal and political conservatism has been hugely muddled with moral conservatism. The first two ideas are political views that work well in economically or resource restricted, extremely difficult environments. "Battening down the hatches," so to speak. Through the lack of social sharing, selected enclaves and individuals may persevere and survive difficult periods, so only the fittest survive, not dragged down by the least productive members of society. However, moral conservatism, while stemming from a similar brew of environmental pressures, is actually more closely associated with a mental disease of closemindedness and irrationality.
This sickness is most evident in extreme cases of "othering" groups of people, past points of dehumanization (kill all members of THEM, group X ,that is not US, group Y). This allows easy partitioning of populations, so that warfare and other methods of population control may be morally justified by the perpetrators (as unethical as it may be). This will also pervade into irrationality regarding reproductive practices, most of them to do with attempting to restrict procreation (and sex) to only the most economically stable classes (married, career oriented men in such places as the midwestern US, or extremely wealthy arab shieks). However, the irrationality that is required to allow this moral conservatism to occur within the human brain will eventually pervade it like a virus. In such a case, logical decisions and true ethical considerations are continually overlooked, and a siege mentality will most likely persist throughout the life of the individual without heavy environmental changes that would aid in lessening the effects of the disease.
The irrationality inherent in such people has been the primary reason for the suppression of astronomy, mathematics, science and ethics, as overturning the irrationality would also overturn the individual's world view and thus cause a mental breakdown, something which would be disastrous in any situation. This is especially more true as the individual further moves down such a path, destroying lives and spreading their sickness with every passing year. The ensuing guilt of realisation would most likely crush them.
The rational mindset occurs more often in times more free of stress, as it requires thinking that can be useless and impractical, but ultimately leads to the elimination of irrational thought processes in the human brain as it eventually seeks to fully understand its environment in order to most efficiently operate. This efficient operation is due to a recognised need to store wealth during times of plenty, and every percent increase in efficiency makes the individual that much more competitive with other individuals. However, if misdirected, the cold rationality can become selfish and irrational, which leads to effects such as fiscal conservatism in good times, in order to most benefit individuals through business.
However, throughout human history, extremely harsh environments have lead to strong predispositions (some mental, some genetic) in most humans to perpetrate irrational thinking. The continual cycles of economic success, population explosion, poverty and warfare/destruction only replenish the surplus of irrational people. This is not to mention that only in the past 100 years have we truly been doing much better in terms of economic progress and individual survival rates. So far, our cultures have not managed to catch up to our reality. There is a great deal of lag time, and it can sometimes take many generations for irrational thinking to be weeded out of a populace. That is why conservatives are a huge fucking problem.
Ultimately, the only mindset that will be of any historical or future benefit is one which is directed towards the betterment of the human race. The greatest greek minds, to the founders of democracy in france and the united states. Scientists like the Curies, Einstein, Tesla, and countless others. Every opponent of irrational thinking and gross religious conduct. Any economic accomplishments have long been forgotten and are essentially worthless to the individuals, but their combined contributions have most likely helped save the human race multiple times, and will hopefully enable the survival of our species into the next hundred thousand years, at least, the only real triumph any member of our species can strive for. (Although maintaining the Earth, nature, and our biosphere would also be a fantastic accomplishment as well. Life should be cherished for the amazing collection of chances that it is.)
This sickness is most evident in extreme cases of "othering" groups of people, past points of dehumanization (kill all members of THEM, group X ,that is not US, group Y). This allows easy partitioning of populations, so that warfare and other methods of population control may be morally justified by the perpetrators (as unethical as it may be). This will also pervade into irrationality regarding reproductive practices, most of them to do with attempting to restrict procreation (and sex) to only the most economically stable classes (married, career oriented men in such places as the midwestern US, or extremely wealthy arab shieks). However, the irrationality that is required to allow this moral conservatism to occur within the human brain will eventually pervade it like a virus. In such a case, logical decisions and true ethical considerations are continually overlooked, and a siege mentality will most likely persist throughout the life of the individual without heavy environmental changes that would aid in lessening the effects of the disease.
The irrationality inherent in such people has been the primary reason for the suppression of astronomy, mathematics, science and ethics, as overturning the irrationality would also overturn the individual's world view and thus cause a mental breakdown, something which would be disastrous in any situation. This is especially more true as the individual further moves down such a path, destroying lives and spreading their sickness with every passing year. The ensuing guilt of realisation would most likely crush them.
The rational mindset occurs more often in times more free of stress, as it requires thinking that can be useless and impractical, but ultimately leads to the elimination of irrational thought processes in the human brain as it eventually seeks to fully understand its environment in order to most efficiently operate. This efficient operation is due to a recognised need to store wealth during times of plenty, and every percent increase in efficiency makes the individual that much more competitive with other individuals. However, if misdirected, the cold rationality can become selfish and irrational, which leads to effects such as fiscal conservatism in good times, in order to most benefit individuals through business.
However, throughout human history, extremely harsh environments have lead to strong predispositions (some mental, some genetic) in most humans to perpetrate irrational thinking. The continual cycles of economic success, population explosion, poverty and warfare/destruction only replenish the surplus of irrational people. This is not to mention that only in the past 100 years have we truly been doing much better in terms of economic progress and individual survival rates. So far, our cultures have not managed to catch up to our reality. There is a great deal of lag time, and it can sometimes take many generations for irrational thinking to be weeded out of a populace. That is why conservatives are a huge fucking problem.
Ultimately, the only mindset that will be of any historical or future benefit is one which is directed towards the betterment of the human race. The greatest greek minds, to the founders of democracy in france and the united states. Scientists like the Curies, Einstein, Tesla, and countless others. Every opponent of irrational thinking and gross religious conduct. Any economic accomplishments have long been forgotten and are essentially worthless to the individuals, but their combined contributions have most likely helped save the human race multiple times, and will hopefully enable the survival of our species into the next hundred thousand years, at least, the only real triumph any member of our species can strive for. (Although maintaining the Earth, nature, and our biosphere would also be a fantastic accomplishment as well. Life should be cherished for the amazing collection of chances that it is.)
Sunday, December 20, 2009
An unclever rationale
The economy is flaccid and limp, like a deflated birthday balloon. The party has long since been deserted and the mice scramble for the crumbs left by the oily faced children. Squalling brats, more pig than human, the corners of their mouths smeared with dark icing, rolls of fat sliding underneath their torpid skin. Their dark bowl cut hair plastered greasily to their skulls, repugnant to behold.
The swirling abyss threatens to engulf the Writer, a damning eternity is only waiting for the next tiny figure to fall flailing towards it. Outlined by the hellish fusion core, this despair swirls in a multispoked pattern, white on blue, blue on black. There is no blessing of oblivion waiting, but a thousand years of torment, each molecule pulled away from the core in a series of small sections, gravity takes hold of its own and the event horizon seals the figures' fate. Small toenails, fingers, bits of hair, they are all wrenched off with inexorable force, then vital organs, fluids and viscera fly screaming towards the center.
Is there an escape from this doldrum of a climax? Extinguished before it had a chance to flame, like a sputtering match. The intellect is folding in onto itself rapidly, vocabulary declines and creativity pales into monotony. Where is there an escape? There must be a path, a yellow gray gravel path that leads to a fearless land, where a man can stand tall or a woman can revel guiltlessly. The trap was laid, set, and triggered. Is there any choice but to wait for the huntsman's axe? Perhaps to gnaw at your own foot, tearing muscle and tendon, vein and bone. Free, but at a cost? Are we lizards, cephalapods, to whom any damage is but psychic and temporary? Is it permanent and crippling, even carrying over to the next generation like some bastardized Linnean parody of life?
The writer sincerely hopes.
The swirling abyss threatens to engulf the Writer, a damning eternity is only waiting for the next tiny figure to fall flailing towards it. Outlined by the hellish fusion core, this despair swirls in a multispoked pattern, white on blue, blue on black. There is no blessing of oblivion waiting, but a thousand years of torment, each molecule pulled away from the core in a series of small sections, gravity takes hold of its own and the event horizon seals the figures' fate. Small toenails, fingers, bits of hair, they are all wrenched off with inexorable force, then vital organs, fluids and viscera fly screaming towards the center.
Is there an escape from this doldrum of a climax? Extinguished before it had a chance to flame, like a sputtering match. The intellect is folding in onto itself rapidly, vocabulary declines and creativity pales into monotony. Where is there an escape? There must be a path, a yellow gray gravel path that leads to a fearless land, where a man can stand tall or a woman can revel guiltlessly. The trap was laid, set, and triggered. Is there any choice but to wait for the huntsman's axe? Perhaps to gnaw at your own foot, tearing muscle and tendon, vein and bone. Free, but at a cost? Are we lizards, cephalapods, to whom any damage is but psychic and temporary? Is it permanent and crippling, even carrying over to the next generation like some bastardized Linnean parody of life?
The writer sincerely hopes.
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