Its sad when they have to settle for less. It does injury to the soul of
such people.
Perhaps they shouldn't settle for less then. If you are sad because it takes
effort, work and understanding to survive and thrive in an entropic universe,
then perhaps you are just trying to kick a little sand at God. The point is
that they have more choices and freedoms now than ever experienced in the
history of the known universe. Why end a good post by whining?
>
> The state of affairs 150 years ago was very, very bad. It was one of the
> worst ever in terms of inhumane treatment of workers. And that was a result
> of free enterprise too.
Oh, yea, I forgot about the glorious era of feudalism, peasantry and slavery
that the industrial revolution replaced. Yea, those were a glorious couple of
thousand years!
Seriously though, throwing off the yoke of exploitation and violence and
replacing it with the freedom of peaceful, voluntary cooperation has been a
difficult -- even rocky -- transition. But there is no denying that we are
better off for effort.
I think you're giving credit where credit isn't due. The level of wealth in
this country has alot to due with abundant natural resources, technology, a
legacy of
> the protestant work ethic and a whole bunch of other things.
I agree with a wide spectrum of underlying factors affecting progress. Free
enterprise is just one.
And even as productivity levels are rapidly increasing because of
information technologies, people are working harder and longer and making
less all the time.
> Many middle class families can no longer make ends meet with a single
> paycheck, so that people have to work two jobs, or both partners have to
> work, or both. All this high-tech productivity is being funneled into fewer
> and fewer hands. So that instead of working fewer hours and making more
> money, people find themselves working more hours and making less money.
> Instead of wealth and leisure, we've only gotten poorer and more exhuasted.
> This leaves little for the pursuit of higher level goals. The fact is,
> most people are not well served by the system you seem to love so well.
> It's sucking the life out of them. I'm not really talking about myself so
> much. I have more time than money and I like it that way. That is a choice
> we made, my wife and I. We'd rather live modestly and have the time to
> enjoy life than to spend our lives "at the office". Our jobs don't pay
> tons, but they're rewarding in other ways. But most Americans aren't so
> lucky. The statistics are there for anyone to see.
Yes, I provided them to Elliot two weeks ago. The statistics are that annual
hours spent working has dropped in every single country tracked (except
Korea) for the past 150 years. In the past 30 years, free time has INCREASED
and time spent at work has DECREASED in the US, Canada and throughout Europe.
The only thing "sucking the life" out of us is belief in myths such as you
have passed on here. Some people may not be happy, but don't blame it the
modern system "sucking the life out of them."
>
> [David Buchanan] As I understand it, this system is not sustainable. It
> acts like a giant sponge, drawing all the world's energy and resourses into
> itself. I think we have to get much smarter about this stuff because its a
> long way down from here.
This unsustainabilty thing is another myth that I have debunked a half dozen
times in this forum. (to clarify -- I argue that modern standard of living
is not only sustainable and self amplifying, but MORE sustainable than
poverty. I DO NOT argue that overpopulation is sustainable.)
>
> Finally, to be a devil's advocate, let me rewrite your phrase... "The fact
> that people can get all the food, protection and material things they need
> by doing what they enjoy (as long as it adds value to others) is truly
> miraculous."
>
> [David Buchanan] Miraculous? I think meeting our basic needs should be a
> simple matter by now.
Why? Why should it be "a simple matter by now?" What is it about societies
that have made progress not only possible, but also something we can take for
granted? You are right that we do take it for granted. The system can work
quite well, and we need to understand what it is that works well before
throwing sand into the gears.
The problem is with this insatiable appitite to have way more than we need.
Its become an insane arms race of materialism where advertisers control what
you
> desire, take aim at your heart's deepest secrets and manipulate the millions
> into believeing that they just have to have the latest thing. I find the
> whole hyper manic frenzy of commerce to be a little insane. I'm just trying
> to make a case that some things are more value-able than profit and that
> some things are more profit-able than money.
Yea, the system does careen out of control at times. It is prone to excess.
Rog
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