Kind of bringing together throughts from various other recent threads, I was thinking about what with the discussions on evolution, population expansion, the demise of earths resources, and the prospects of settling on other planets, what would equilibrium be for humanity?
What would human life be like at the point at which we balanced everything: where birth rate equals death rate. Where energy use is within renewable limits. Where the effects we each have on the planet are reversible within our own lifetime.
Would we ever come close to that? Or are we doomed to self destruction because of a mindset incompatible with equilibrium.
To what extent would self discipline be required to maintain equilibrium, and which aspects of life would require state enforcement?
And personality -- what would we imagine human personality to be like at that limit? Would we feel as ambitious or as empowered as we currently feel? Would equilibrium be peaceful, happy, easy, hard, depressive, or bloody?
Repeating what I said elsewhere to guide thinking, for the last few millennia, our exploits of the earth's resources, coupled with intensive farming, and transportation, we live in an era with abundant fuel, food and land. This is an unnatural existence, because the equilibrium is shifted so far into our favour, we exist without the survival concerns that our prehistoric ancestors had to endure.
What would human life be like at the point at which we balanced everything: where birth rate equals death rate. Where energy use is within renewable limits. Where the effects we each have on the planet are reversible within our own lifetime.
Would we ever come close to that? Or are we doomed to self destruction because of a mindset incompatible with equilibrium.
To what extent would self discipline be required to maintain equilibrium, and which aspects of life would require state enforcement?
And personality -- what would we imagine human personality to be like at that limit? Would we feel as ambitious or as empowered as we currently feel? Would equilibrium be peaceful, happy, easy, hard, depressive, or bloody?
Repeating what I said elsewhere to guide thinking, for the last few millennia, our exploits of the earth's resources, coupled with intensive farming, and transportation, we live in an era with abundant fuel, food and land. This is an unnatural existence, because the equilibrium is shifted so far into our favour, we exist without the survival concerns that our prehistoric ancestors had to endure.
