[extropy-chat] gm biodiesel 'em

[David Lubkin]

Jack Parkinson wrote:

>To my mind, a successful extropian future is partly dependent on making a
>transition from economics of scarcity to economics of plenty - just having a
>more radical juxtaposition of haves and have-nots is never going to do this.

I see those expressions -- "economics of scarcity" and "economics of 
plenty" -- occasionally. They seem like a hand-waving fancy.

First, I don't see how there's more than one economics.

Second, it seems to me that there will always be scarcity.

You may mean a future where what we today consider the essentials of 
life are trivially available to all. That may happen. But the 
goalposts keep moving.

Want will always exceed supply, since the former is effectively 
infinite and the latter is effectively finite.

There also seems to be a socialist tinge in talking of haves and 
have-nots. One of the consequences of technology has always been, and 
will continue to be, increasing the gap between the top and the 
bottom of the asset curve.


-- David Lubkin.