[extropy-chat] economics of scarcity to economics of plenty

[Jeff Davis]

--- spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:

> Whoooooohoooo, I get so turned on with this kind of
> talk.

Yeah, me too.  But I'm seriously suspicious.
 
> He's absolutely right you know.  

"Absolutely'?  Strong wording that.  True believer
stuff.  Tread carefully.

While the world is awash in opportunity, there are
problems.  I'll list three.  

Our culture does NOT make a focused effort to train
people to be economically savvy, to recognize the
abundance of opportunity and to make it work for them.
  In the old days a son or daughter would be at their
father or mother's side and learn the necessary life
skills.  Our culture has no plan -- our education
system is an unfocused corrupted pile of crap -- for
preparing people to be economically competent.  When
people succeed, they do so IN SPITE OF the culture's
failure to do its duty and prepare them.  Almost
without exception the preparation for success comes
from the family, from the individual realizing what
he/she needs to do, or from blind luck.  And the
family influence is so crucial a factor, that economic
incompetence (from which comes poverty) is virtually
an inherited familial legacy.  

I wonder whether people see this, because to me it
seems that successful people who know "how to get
there from here" do it naturally, like breathing,
without thinking and without realizing that it's
something you need to know how to do.  And
unsuccessful people, the chronically indigent, are
paralyzed by the absolute certainty that there IS NO
WAY OUT, 

> I know of folks who
> have made a living out of nothing, merely buying
> antique motorcycles, taking them apart and selling
the pieces on eBay.  New parts cannot be had in most
cases, or if so they cost a fortune.  Guys that still
have the old bikes need the parts.
> 
> No particular expertise is needed, a decent small
> biz can grow out of a hobby.  The pay isn't great in
> most cases, but higher than minimum wage, and
doesn't
> require a "will work for food" sign.  The internet
has created new opportunities all over the place.  One
need not be a young person to jump on them.
> 
> Capitalism, my friends, is the answer to poverty. 
> Compare poor people in capitalistic nations with
elsewhere.  Notice the poor people in New Orleans. 
They looked pretty well fed, did they not? 
Competition breeds excellence. 
> It doesn't make losers, everyone wins.
> 
> spike



	
		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 
http://mail.yahoo.com