I keep repeating this to people. In less then 200 years we destroyed a balance that took millions of years to build itself.
One of the reasons why capitalism seems to work so well in Western democracies is because it's short-sighted.
Capitalism focuses on the immediate future - the next year or a few years, and any material gains that can be made in that time frame. Businesses rarely plan for 10+ years into the future, because their products or services may no longer be financially feasible by then.
Just like our democratic governments focus on the next 4 years or less, because afterwards the government will likely change. No point making plans that your political opponents will benefit from. Which is also why the West can't get anything substantial done.
short-sighted
years
You need to think shorter. No one above me talks in anything except the next quarter. That is the next 89 days. Nothing else matters.
That depends a lot on the industry. Next quarter almost always takes priority over next year, but it's not that uncommon for companies to take things a year to it at a time.
That's still crazy, Short-sighted, and ruining our planet tho.
You're right. I was way too generous.
That's because it's coupled with modern medical marvels, like the discovery of antibiotics, which has led to a wildfire of population growth. Also, the "Industrial Revolution" where we yoke machines into assembly thus yielding more output, which encouraged more population growth -- especially within the food sector.
Capitalism did exist in the 19th Century, but because Gangrene, Rickets, and other maladies, it was slowed. It was also slowed because electricity hadn't been harnessed yet.
Basically, this assertion is ignoring the crossroad of human progress: discoveries in medicine, harnessing electricity, Industrial Revolution and assembly lines, and recent electrolytic tabulation (aka computers).
We've had a few extinction events, and I suspect even the Holocene extinction event (which is already in progress) will not be as bad as the Permian–Triassic.
Right now, three possibilities are in the running to kill off humans:
~ Climate-change induced famine and drought
~ Nuclear escalation (The US is looking at broader options... using low-yield nuclear weapons in a regional conflict)
~ AI takeover, which will likely look like the owner class developing armies of murderbots to annex the world before the AI accidentally determines they are a target as well. (And less so the Yudkowsky and Soares scenario.)
But humans are more likely to do what Homo Erectus did and go through a low population phase. They had a population less than 10,000 for millennia for a while before expanding again, only to get wiped out by competition with their cousins.
But even if humans die, life on earth will regrow across millions of years, and may even evolve intelligence and technology.
A "low population phase" is a nice way to say "post apocalypse".
I really enjoy this genre of fiction, but I don't think I would enjoy it IRL.
Yeah, I don't think you would. Many post-apocalyptic stories "forget" that most technology requires global supply lines that shouldn't exist anymore. Even just food, water and electricity would be non-trivial depending on the scenario. Definitely not exciting
Hmm... No most post apoc fiction is mindful of these issues.
My main concern is that most novels have a token nerdy / accountant type who's role is to demonstrate how useless our skills are in a post apocalyptic wasteland. That's me really. An accountant.
I'd say even a techie would quickly end up with useless skills. Today's devices rarely allow tinkering and damage is often permanent. In SciFi robots can be fixed or manipulated simply with changing some cables in their back. Anyone who's been working in robotics knows this is almost impossible. Same with hacking into computer systems. There are some exceptions of course.
I was thinking of the Mad Max universe that still has gasoline even though it goes stale within 6 months in reality. Doesn't make these universes and stories bad, but also not realistic. Real apocalypse sucks.
The five oldest professions will be forever: Farmers, soldiers, kings, courtesans, and accountants. The first three rely on the bean counters to make sure that everything is where it belongs.
You have job security.
I can keep track of how much food everyone should be getting. In exchange for more food.
While not denying it is one of the main factors, let's not forget the massive, continuous and egregious ecological disregard the directed economies had, and have.
Yeah we've gotten such a force multiplier from technology, people were always like this. Capitalism just adds on to it because people and businesses feel like they can't stop sprinting towards catastrophe or they're the ones losing out.
yeah, but another billion dollars and being so rich that you'll never be able to spend it in MANY lifetimes is so great.
/s
The soviet union wasn't exactly great environmental stewards either. Perhaps the problem is a technological gap between industrilization and sustainability.
ITT: "God I'm sick of getting stabbed in the spleen".
"You should try unlimited free blowjobs instead!"
"I don't know, the last seven buildings I went into with 'unlimited free blowjobs' signs also stabbed me in the spleen"
"OH, those weren't real unlimited free blowjobs. No real unlimited free blowjobs has ever existed. You need to watch more porn."
Maybe I'm too stupid but I don't get the analogy. 💀
Unlimited free blowjobs = communism
Watch porn = read theory
You should measure by existence of society, not earth's age. Same conclusion though.
Dinosaurs had capitalism.
Birds were socialists.
An extinction event is currently ongoing that humans caused
Meh. I'm no fan of capitalism, but I'd say the problem is humanity itself, or maybe an evolutionary system that favors short sighted local advantage at the expense of eventual extinction.
I already posted the great filter today, so...
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