They say that a rise in per capita real income results in the reduction in family size. A wonderful TED presentation ( see http://www.Ted.com ) by Hans Rosling describes in a powerful power point format how the distribution of wealth may materialize over future years as the slow growth richer economies give way to the fast growth poorer economies. What happens is that as we grow economies with higher per capita real incomes, we slow down world population growth rates and the earth's chances of survival improve.
The landscape of technology at the present time is poised for transformation from a long period of development into a rush of innovation. Growth in wealth terms worldwide could be spectacular. There are a few downsides to this, but the most interesting aspect is that we could save fragile systems that enrich our habitat while we grow richer, or we could create a boring plane of junk that leads everyone to higher and higher planes of frustration and boredom.
This issue is whether we go for stimulation or relaxation as our mode of living. We have a choice overall as to which direction the curve is biased.
We can go on as mainly permanent ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, people, or as REAL, Relaxed Easy Artistic Living people. In the ADD world, people are seriously replaced and removed as so much machinery, but in the REAL world people continue as people, but they focus on the arts and the quality of life.
Most macro economic experts see development as desirable because they envisage a slow down in overall economic or macro growth as a consequence of underdevelopment. In reality, however, we have seen that the rapid development of financial markets in the wrong directions has been destructive of overall growth. Thus it matters what the direction of development has been.
We see that the development of the automobile and the combustion engine has brought with it the development of oil wells, refineries and a host of industrial artifacts and products from plastics to synthetic materials. It also has brought with it a host of issues associated with killing and death, wars, pain, and suffering on scales never before experienced. Most of all, it has shielded one part of the world from the problems of the other, so that a few countries did very well Jack, while many countries suffered terribly. This has happened within a century.
Perhaps, the development of the combustion engine was a bit lopped sided in the favor of interests that controlled oil production, refining, and distribution. We see that now! Some see it very clearly and we call them terrorists. As China uses more oil, it will increasingly fight these terrorists for the rest of the world until they are eliminated. The truth is, however, that technological innovation gets lopsided because free market economies are lazy in the innovation of alternatives.
Will ye no think kindly on those who would be your friends! May the sun shine with your thoughts, today, and happiness grow in your heart! May you allow yourself some peace of mind.
