[extropy-chat] gm biodiesel 'em

[spike]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-
> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of David Lubkin
> Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2005 7:41 AM
> To: exI chat list
> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] gm biodiesel 'em
> 
> 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.
> 
...

David Lubkin wrote:
> 
> Second, it seems to me that there will always be scarcity...


Yes, because scarcity is arbitrarily defined.

During the Katrina disaster, there were numerous news videos
of people slogging thru flooded streets, belated attempts
to evacuate, endless droning about poverty this and poverty
that.  But the people they showed on the videos appeared
quite well fed.  None of them looked in immediate danger
of starvation, in fact most of them appeared overweight,
some waaaay overweight.  This must be puzzling indeed to 
those in truly hungry places in the world, to see apparently 
wealthy people given as examples of how the west shamefully 
allows grinding poverty among its own people, while failing 
to produce a even single example of a person who appears 
to be actually starving.  

Actually we have a few such people; they are known as 
supermodels.  The absurdity of the situation cries out 
for biting satire.

spike