Re: The Cornucopian Fallacies

From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Sun Dec 09 2001 - 03:05:05 MST


<<Clearly, both are religions of a sort. Why is it that any person or group
with a social or philosophical cause always seems to adopt uncompromising,
religious stances regarding the issues of interest?>>

I am not sure, but Ehrlich strikes me as a raging-ego, more so then futurist,
Herman Kahn, ever did, or Julian Simon. There is room for sensible responses
to population expansion, and resource depletion, that do not include
hysteria, which I hold that Ehrlich had offered, in Population Bomb. Was
Simon's Ultimate Resource an over reaction? I tend to side with Simon, for
the simple fact that oil has not run out, that food production has not
declined, etc. Do we need to move away from gasoline and diesel as
transportation fuels, yes. Do we need to devastate our economy in the
process? no.

Now answer for yourself, if you believe that nanoproduction of goods and
services is a Cornucopian fantasy? It clearly is, in the sense of its
potential, and what Drexler has indicated about it. But is it a dream that is
likely to come true, or a pipe-dream?



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