[ExI] Is unemployment the future?

[Sockpuppet99@hotmail.com]

Interesting whiff of anti-Semitism here, although you could not  
possibly have meant such. Would you like to add that the should not  
crucify mankind upon a cross of gold?

Tom D

Sent from my iPod

On Nov 7, 2009, at 11:39 AM, Michael LaTorra <mlatorra at gmail.com> wrote:

> FYI:
> While reading an article in SCIENCE magazine about renewable energy  
> projects in China, I was struck most of all by the mention, made in  
> passing, that the majority of the leaders of the Chinese government/ 
> Communist Party are engineers.
>
> They may be terrible on issues of human rights. But their management  
> of the Chinese economy and development of infrastructure show a much  
> better grasp on reality than what we see in the USA among our leaders.
>
> I'd like to see more scientists and engineers in our government,  
> rather than the lawyers and bankers who control the United States of  
> Goldman Sachs.
>
> Regards,
> Mike LaTorra
>
> On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 9:19 AM, Eugen Leitl <eugen at leitl.org> wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 03, 2009 at 04:15:20PM +0100, Stefano Vaj wrote:
>
> > Sorry if I am pestering you, but I think it is at least equally
> > plausible to see things the other way around. Engineering is  
> declining
> > in Europe because cultural values dictate that you should be  
> instead a
> > banker, a lawyer or a consultant.
>
> The distinct problem I have that smart people are moving to these
> professions (because of the value society puts into them, measured
> in terms of hard cash) that they're a symptom of an overregulated,
> mature, bureaucratic society. You no longer create stuff, but squabble
> over allocation and distribution of existing stuff. Zero-sum, not  
> positive-sum.
> Hence the need for conflict resolution, arbitration, mock-property,  
> claim
> and pretend-wealth management (alas, the knowledge nor money
> doesn't like to work very hard).
>
> > And the view is widespread that a society can live perfectly well by
> > simply selling financial and commercial services to one another.
>
> Well, we're seeing where such views have taken us. And it sure ain't  
> pretty.
>
> > As a consequence, economy (and technological innovation!) slow down.
> > This in turn creates unemployment. And ultimately poverty, for that
>
> Worse, it creates static, brittle societies which are unable to deal
> with change. Coming just at the time where the need for adaptation and
> change is highest, as we're running into limits of resources without
> having achieved escape velocity yet.
>
> That is a recipe for failure, not survival. At least, for established
> old, I'm hoping the emerging new ones will do better, by necessity  
> alone.
>
> > matter. Not that this makes any easier to find a good butler or
> > lute-maker, eg, even though in such jobs technology remains largely
> > irrelevant.
>
> --
> Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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