[ExI] extropy-chat Digest, Vol 124, Issue 14

[Kelly Anderson]

On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 1:14 PM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 4:00 AM,  Eric Messick <eric at m056832107.syzygy.com
> >
>
> > Keith was lamenting the lack of support for space based solar power.
>
> That's correct, though it isn't just about SBSP, it's a lack of
> support, even interest, in technical solution to get us out of the fix
> of energy, carbon, climate, etc.
>
> > He was looking for an explanation of the hostility he sometimes sees
> > to what looks to me like an obviously good idea.  How, he asks, did we
> > evolve into creatures with such reactions?
>
> Or if it isn't a direct result of evolution, how did we come by a set
> of such memes of hopelessness? How do we shake them off? Why hostility
> to good news? My personal observation of this dates back to shortly
> after the L5 Society was founded, at a Limits to Growth conference we
> were nearly through out of for proposing that a solution existed.
>

I believe part of the problem goes back to an incorrect meme that pure
capitalism can't do large projects without government socialism doing the
heavy lifting. Combine this with the view that the current government is
unable to do anything useful, and you have the reason for the noted
depression.

This problem will be solved when and only when a capitalist with enough
money, or enough gumption to go out and get enough money, sees the dollars
in it.

Perhaps when Brent is a Bitcoin billionaire, he'll fund it. ;-)


> I would be satisfied with a more widespread attitude that we should
> fix or at least be actively looking for fixes to problems.
>

That's what capitalism is all about, do you think the capitalists have
their thumbs up their asses?

-Kelly
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