Gary Nunn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> In a Utopian society, the thinkers and scientists would > proactively look for solutions with the full support of society in general. > > However, we are talking about America, a country that thrives on, and > worships convenience. It's not convenient to consider Global Warming, it's > not convenient to consider alternative energy sources, etc. If convenience implies efficient use of available resources, then this is not a bad thing. The problem with your "Utopian society" is that there are an infinite number of proactive things that could be done. How to decide which ones to do, since a real society cannot pursue an infinite number of proactive projects? One way to decide is to let free-market prices be the guide. Historically, this has worked well, which surprises some people who think that there must be an intelligent-designer for a system to work well. But in a free-market, prices distill the experience and skills (and perhaps even wisdom) of a vast number of people throughout the world. I think this concept may be the most important lesson that I learned in studying economics. To get this a little bit on topic, there is actually a good science-fiction book that came out recently on this subject, although it is more science than fiction. I recommend "The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity" by Russ Roberts: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8733.html _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
