From: hal@finney.org
Date: Mon Jan 29 2001 - 15:46:37 MST
I want to respond to just one part of Barbara's message, because it
suggests a problem in the way we look at things:
> But our present system isn't working very well either. Not for the vast
> majority of people living within it. Most people spend the majority of
> their time doing things they don't want to be doing. For most people, life
> cannot be said to be joyful.
This may be true, but the problem is this. Almost half of all people
live in China or India. I've never been there and I know little about
their culture. Any analysis of what "most people" do must be based on
lifestyles in these countries and other countries where the bulk of the
people in the world live.
Most people are, by Western standards, very poor. It may well be that
most people do not experience much joy in life. I don't know; I've never
spoken with a poor Chinese peasant. But if we hope to improve the lives
of most people, we should not analyze their situation in the context of
a Western middle class lifestyle.
It's one thing to talk about the future of the West, about the new
technologies and what opportunities they will bring to those of us wealthy
and fortunate enough to be participating on this mailing list. But let
us not forget that "most people" are unlike us. It's going to be a much
longer road for them to share in the bountiful future we hope to see.
Hal
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Nov 02 2002 - 08:05:26 MST