[ExI] Radical Life Extension and the Problem of Malthusian Hells

[Henrique Moraes Machado (CI)]

<Will Steinberg>
Ah, why can't people look on the bright side of things?  Faced with the 
threat of said Malthusian hells, people will finally put the im in their 
petus to find cheaper, larger scale agriculture and food production methods. 
Diseases will have to be reigned in in order to prevent catastrophes 
associated with even denser populations.  Water retrieval methods will 
improve, and perhaps the monopolistic control of water and food dispersal 
will fade in the face of necessity.  And of course, most important of all, 
there will be a very good reason for interplanetary colonization!
History has shown that necessity induces progress.  The agricultural 
revolution was spurred by need for higher production.  Don't forget that 
this pretty much started the industrial revolution--it wasn't that people 
said "Hey!  Science!  Let's use this to farm better!"  They only took up new 
farming tools and methods because they needed them to keep up.  You know: 
NITMOI, NITMOI!
</Will Steinberg>

Yes, please. These apocalypse-monger people never seem to acknowledge that 
technology doesn't stand still. I'd like to add that not only necessity 
induces progress, but progress itself induces more progress. Technology is a 
cumulative game.
And while these people whine, the world keeps getting better and better.