[p2p-research] Tick, tock, tick, tock… BING

[Ryan Lanham]

On Sat, Dec 12, 2009 at 2:32 PM, J. Andrew Rogers
<reality.miner at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Sat, Dec 12, 2009 at 10:59 AM, Michel Bauwens
> <michelsub2004 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > another interesting take is that of giovanni arrighi in his book adam
> smith
> > in beijing; where he shows how east asia chooses industrious development
> > over industrial development; i:e: automation is not always an automatic
> > decision of capital in these regions of the world ...
>
>
> There is a large "burn the tractors" policy element at work in many
> parts of Asia. It creates relative impoverishment in a very real sense
> but it keeps the peasants from rioting.  The governments figured out a
> long time ago that if you widely distribute subsistence make-work it
> is sufficient to keep the people from questioning corruption too
> aggressively -- it gives the people something to lose.
>
>
The same policies have been tried many times in the history of labor.  Many
times.  They always fail at some significant level.

You've got systems now in France which protect certain modes of producing
wine or cheese, etc.  It has excellent product outcomes, but in economic
terms, the systems need protection...walls, fences.   These generally lead
to systematic poverty when other nations blow by through investment.  So,
you've got to decide as a society what you want...openness, liberty,
technology or the social system you've had for years.

The simple undeniable issue that is apparently Warren Buffett's number 1
social peeve, is that we simply have too many people.  With fertility rates
in Europe often around 1.3 - 1.5, you can see that the wealthy willingly
stop growing.  In Asia, Africa and South America, the fertility rates are
often well over 2...sometimes over 3 or even 4.  In such societies, we
either have to absorb huge numbers of such people into the modern world, put
a fence around them, or kill them.  We've chosen the fence for the most
part.  Now we are choosing absorb since fences no longer work.  That isn't
feasible with carbon.  So now what?  A new way or kill.  Fences no longer
work.  The Internet and cell phones destroyed them.  Killing isn't really
feasible given numbers without massive plagues or nuclear war.  Even with
all the killing in the Congo, populations are up.  Millions died there in
war.  Still not enough to absorb the people.  So the question is one of
labor futures.  Burning the tractors is like smashing thermometers on global
warming. Might feel good...doesn't answer the questions.
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