[ExI] Dope was Re: state of conflict technology

Sat Jan 11 13:53:49 UTC 2020

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of Rafal Smigrodzki via extropy-chat

On Fri, Jan 10, 2020 at 2:54 PM Keith Henson via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org <mailto:extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> > wrote:

Libertarianism (or libertarianism) in the context of evolution is a
harsh political stand to take.

### Harsh but fair, maybe?

I'd rather say that acknowledging evolutionary forces acting on the society, and deftly working with them is the mellow option, compared to mulishly going against the tide. Low fitness should lead to elimination of the responsible alleles. …Rafal

Ja there is that, but consider the dope situation with respect to something we have gone on about here at length: society’s transition from the economies of scarcity to abundance.

Now we have everything we really need, if you think about it: sure the luxury stuff is still pricey, the granite countertops and Teslas and things, but it is easy to see that life’s bare necessities are cheaper than ever, and a lot of it is free.

When many of us were misspending our youth, an old beater car still cost enough that a teen needed a job to get one and maintain it.  But now… not really.  There are pleeeenty of old beater cars and trucks, cosmetically distressed, maybe a sideswipe or a fender munch or oxidized paint, lotta miles on it, such that its resale value is severely compromised, but there is nothing wrong with it mechanically.  Those can be had for nearly nothing: most anyone who can afford insurance can afford to drive something a bit more dignified.  So… plenty of old cars a kid can talk the owner out of it nearly free.

OK then, the same holds for old delivery vehicles and work vans.  After a van gets old and distressed, you don’t want your business hanging its sign on that, you don’t want that representing your plumbing or repair biz, so… away with it, get a new van, but there is little or nothing mechanically wrong with the old one, so it has a salvage value of a few hundred bucks, but you can donate that to the local charity and write it off, so plenty of businesses do.  Result: lots of operational old work vans still rolling around with… people living in them.

The economy of abundance has opened the door for a lifestyle, urban stealth.  A person can live in a van, shower at the local health club, or public facility plenty of cities have, use public laundry, get susenance at the local food bank free, internet at the public library wifi, free.  Theoretically health insurance is free for the destitute.  The urban stealther can live free or almost, dispense with wake up every morning to the alarm clock warning, take the eight fifteen into the city…  Never mind all that, not necessary, if one will accept the rigors of living on the road, which plenty of young people do.

If you don’t have a job and everything is free, there isn’t much reason to eschew dope.

spike

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