Reply #7: The urge to expand may ultimately be resistible [View All]

[GliderGuider]

but I see precious little evidence of it at the moment. Global GDP is still expanding, China is still putting in its two coal power plants a week and I'm not aware of any non-renewable resource whose use has ceased. We may be slowing the expansion of our consumption here and there (like we are with population growth) but at a global level I see no evidence at all of widespread resistance to the philosophy of growth.

I will change one thing in that statement you quote. I don't think it's an irresistible human urge - that's a misstatement born from my old reflexes. I really think it's an irresistible cultural urge, an urge made irresistible by the forces that create, defend and propagate our cultural narrative. Given that this is the case the urge will become more and more resistible as the culture changes and its memetic fabric changes form.

Here's what I changed it to:

The irresistible cultural urge (promoted by the economic, social and political institutions that create and defend the narrative of our culture) is of course for us to get busy and do even more of what seemed to get us out of trouble in the past: innovate and expand.