Short term thinking will get us all killed

July 11, 2018

This cartoon sums up the current state of the world.

Our politicians really do everything based on the 3 to 4 year election cycle.

The basic theory is that if the economy is rolling along and people have money in their pockets, then nothing else matters, famously, 'it's the economy, stupid'

And politically this is not a bad strategy. There are a lot of us who put our financial position above everything else.

For the first time in history, we really do have the power to destroy our ecosystem within 100 years.

We are told by very believable men in suits that our economy must grow by 3% per annum. This means that every 24 years we double its size. The planet's economy is already large and using a lot of resources. As we go forward, more income will be derived from services but there will still be growth in goods.

Probably with a bit of fudging, we can manage things for one doubling but doubling again, in 46 years from now, will strain every system.

We need radical action to avoid this dystopian future! A new definition of what a good life is, and how we can all have it without wrecking everything. 

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Also in Reasonable World