we have solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and 3d printers…
we don’t live in a time where star trek is fantasy any more, we have devices literally inspired by things in star trek that were once considered basically impossible, WE HAVE ACTUAL TRACTOR BEAMS.
A smidge, yes, but scarcity can be enforced. Which is what happens in capitalism, for the most part. Those with means undermine methods of creating cheap abundant supplies, because it would overwhelm demand and there would be no profit. It’s not even necessarily intentional. There’s just point in investing in an over-abundance of supply, as your returns would never make it worth it.
It’s as much, if not more, about intention as means.
Can we have a post-scarcity managed economy of abundance a la Star Trek? Plskthx
having basically unlimited clean energy and replicators probably helps just a smidge there.
we have solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and 3d printers…
we don’t live in a time where star trek is fantasy any more, we have devices literally inspired by things in star trek that were once considered basically impossible, WE HAVE ACTUAL TRACTOR BEAMS.
A smidge, yes, but scarcity can be enforced. Which is what happens in capitalism, for the most part. Those with means undermine methods of creating cheap abundant supplies, because it would overwhelm demand and there would be no profit. It’s not even necessarily intentional. There’s just point in investing in an over-abundance of supply, as your returns would never make it worth it.
It’s as much, if not more, about intention as means.
Sure, it only takes 27 years and 600 million lives.
If we’re not losing half or more of the human population to various crises in that time I’d say that’s doing pretty good