And this is really the black, rotting heart of the #EffectiveAltruism movement: It is nothing more than excuse to plunder the present for a highly hypothetical distant future.
Look, I am not saying that humanity won't ever spread out among the stars, assuming that we survive the present crisis - though I bet it won't be during these bastards' lifetimes (since the needed tech is nowhere available). However, if the actual goal is "more Mozarts and more Einsteins", then they could do far more for this right now.
Both Mozart and Einstein grew up in relatively privileged families who made it possible for their scions to follow their passions. In contrast, the Capitalist system that both Bezos and Musk encourage grinds most of the people working in it - especially at the lower ends - into the dust, creating a vast overworked and underpaid underclass.
How is human ingenuity supposed to prosper under these situations? How can a new Mozart or Einstein arise if their parents struggle to make ends meet as a part of the vast supply chains Bezos and Musk are commanding?
If they don't take care of the people living right now, then why should we trust the ideology of these bastards to encourage the growth of the human spirit in the future?
They are NOT humanity's saviors - but merely an expression of the sickness of our times.
#CapitalismIsKillingUs: If the world’s highest emitting countries only focus on technological climate solutions (like switching to renewable energy) and not #systemic behavioral ones (like buying less stuff and using less energy), the authors argue, #climatechange may be slowed. But #ecological#overshoot—which includes symptoms like #biodiversity loss, #ecosystem collapse, and #oceanacidification—will worsen. And as overshoot worsens, the authors argue, “the likelihood of societal breakdown increases.”
Tried to rent a post digger and failed; had to buy. If I were better organized I could have asked my neighbors if they had this tool that I could borrow for precisely 4 holes.
Okay one more food related thought for today, apparently I have a backlog. You know how there are tool libraries and that’s more sustainable than everyone buying tools individually? I was thinking we should have community kitchen gadget libraries. For example, I would love to try using an icecream maker but I neither have the space, nor would I use it often enough. Does something like this exist already? #ToolLibrary#Sharingeconomy#sustainability#Food
Here’s a thought experiment: If you had a small group of skilled mobile, desktop, server, and web front-end engineers who have access to time and money, and are eager to MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE USING THEIR SKILLS (and not just spin up yet another exploitive startup) what would YOU have them do?
Be specific.
Assume cost is no object.
It’s time to stop bellyaching about how bad tech is, and start brainstorming about what good it can do.
Please repost for exposure.
EDIT: Let’s add hardware, industrial design, and UX engineers in the mix as well, to round things out.
webware for smallscale sharing initiatives, mainly wrt accessibility.
You want to start a bottom-up tool library in your neighbourhood? Awesome.
But you better find some tech minded volunteers (and get yourself a low turnover rate). The existing options are not accessible enough for a broad range of people.