<Malthus, as I recall, thought that the number of humans grows geometrically, while the production of necessities, such as food, only increases in an additive, arithmetical progression>
You see, it's once again fake science. Using "maths" to prove a proposition. Brains don't work on maths. Brains do quantum leaps and quantum tunneling and need no bridges.
Sure, we have emotions; eons-old limbic systems and stuff. But our minds, which are the recent addition, aren't there for fun and they are just as real, hardwired and permanent as the eons-old limbic systems. [Friday night at the boozer notwithstanding].
Keep in mind that evil can only exist once good is established. Predators, parasites and cannibals don't exist until there is something to feed on. Thieves only exist after people with brains have created something for them to steal.
So, to be "scientific", thieves, kleptocrats, totalitarians and their ilk can never be more than parasites. Saddam can only exist while there's oil to sell to people who use brains instead of crime.
The reason things always get better is that although we have hiccoughs, as you say, two steps forwards and one back [and sometimes three - every 10th step or at some stage], each human wants their life to be better. In a co-operative world of brains, we can each only get better if we do good stuff that others want to buy of their own volition, and the things we produce provide a consumer surplus and profit.
A consumer surplus and profit is like entropy in reverse. Rather than running down, as happens with entropy in closed thermodynamic systems [which is what we live in in the physical mindless world of Malthus], in a mind game, which is what We the Sheeple live in and survive by since we started escaping the red in tooth and claw biological realm of dog eat dog and eat or be eaten, we are constantly improving things.
Entropy leads to cold, still, black and dead. Mind games, profit, and consumer surplus lead to Nirvana [if I wasn't an atheist and going to have a nice cup of tea, we could have a large theological and teleological rant about now]. Even at the time of Malthus, it was obvious that we had reached escape velocity from the billion year old black hole of the food chain and the most basic levels of survival of the fittest. Now, it's just a question of WHEN we shoot past the event horizon into the wild blue yonder.
Therefore, the only logical thing to be is optimistic. The world can only get better [volatility notwithstanding]. That's from an overall point of view of course and for individuals, your mileage may vary.
So, let's have some mind games on Saddam and his mates and see what happens. I bet the bigger consumer surplus wins.
Mqurice |
