Two points to your many excellent onessjcarpediemMay 18 2009, 08:51:55 UTC
Certainly the quality of life for the majority of Americans has been better than it was 200 years ago.
This is arguably untrue if you look at life-satisfaction, happiness, depression (and social anxiety disorders), job-satisfaction, involvement with hobbies, the overall perceived richness of culture (art, literature, theatre and other recreational/enriching involvements), rates of financial insecurity and criminality, etc. I'm not saying everyone should be farmers, but I am saying this "progress" thing may be headed in a less-than-desirable direction. I think we've been going down this road long enough to be able to seriously question it [whether it's really getting society at large to a desired goal or not] and even consider shifting priorities.
But while there will be new jobs that we don't know of yet, they will be for fewer people even as our population grows. Example: If a town of 20,000 needs one librarian, does a town of 100,000 need 5? No.I dare posit that perhaps the answer to this question should be a resounding, "Yes
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Re: Two points to your many excellent onesloreeleyMay 19 2009, 06:39:34 UTC
Do you honestly think that people now are unhappier than 200 years ago when most of us would have worked from dawn to dusk on the family farm, without hope of every being able to do something else and where even children had to take part in the work. Or 100 years ago when people worked long shifts in factories, often in exhausting conditions
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Re: Two points to your many excellent onessjcarpediemMay 21 2009, 15:30:05 UTC
I think you lack a clear definition of 'happiness' (and what goes into it) yourself so it would be pointless to argue with you about it. Just because something hasn't always had recorded measurements kept doesn't mean people weren't aware of it
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You also have a somewhat intangible factor of the general population getting sick of the hands-off, automated life. I know that I prefer small, local stores, doctors' offices that are not chains, local restaurants, and to buy, give, and receive handmade. Look at the success of things like etsy.com.
I know that many of my friends have the same proclivities. I think that because of the high-touch rarities, we crave it even more. I now prefer farmers' markets, locally grown meats (thankfully I'm in TX, so this is abundant and not too expensive), and locally grown and made veggies and other goods. I think localization will turn the tide, and truth be told, in my opinion, we're moving toward more sustainable lifestyles. This means lower consumption, lower wages, but hopefully a little more living.
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This is arguably untrue if you look at life-satisfaction, happiness, depression (and social anxiety disorders), job-satisfaction, involvement with hobbies, the overall perceived richness of culture (art, literature, theatre and other recreational/enriching involvements), rates of financial insecurity and criminality, etc. I'm not saying everyone should be farmers, but I am saying this "progress" thing may be headed in a less-than-desirable direction. I think we've been going down this road long enough to be able to seriously question it [whether it's really getting society at large to a desired goal or not] and even consider shifting priorities.
But while there will be new jobs that we don't know of yet, they will be for fewer people even as our population grows. Example: If a town of 20,000 needs one librarian, does a town of 100,000 need 5? No.I dare posit that perhaps the answer to this question should be a resounding, "Yes ( ... )
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I know that many of my friends have the same proclivities. I think that because of the high-touch rarities, we crave it even more. I now prefer farmers' markets, locally grown meats (thankfully I'm in TX, so this is abundant and not too expensive), and locally grown and made veggies and other goods. I think localization will turn the tide, and truth be told, in my opinion, we're moving toward more sustainable lifestyles. This means lower consumption, lower wages, but hopefully a little more living.
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