I think we should allow the 1% to accumulate all the ownership, and then we can scramble and compete for them to share it with us based on how much money we make for them. Just think, eventually we can all be surfs renting the tools of production from the owners, so that they can let us have the minimal returns. And then we can just blame each other for not competing hard enough to please them.
But, if we can crack that problem, I think it's science. We have looming medical costs coming, and we need people to realize that it's cheap cures that are the solution. Instead of re-arranging the deck chairs, we need to start getting off the ship. I know it's hard to find spare time to collect for the research charities, but it's one of the most cost-effective ways cheap cures are available asap.
Ecosystem services are another huge risk. It's very clear that we can withdraw huge abundance by co-opting ecosystems. And it's also clear we can accidentally go too far. We need to deliberately trim away at the ways in which we're inflicting damage. We need to create buffer zones to prevent either runaway extinctions or extinctions of important species. And we need to use innovation to pull more and more food and resources from the ground while causing less and less damage per calorie.
We need to learn how the dictator-crushing of WWII was so successful, and how all the efforts after then have been so less successful. And we need to realize that we have the power and the onus to put ethical obligations on our international corporations. Screw this idea that a propped-up dictatorship has the sole 'right' to rein in the rapacity of our monied entrepreneurs. Allowing our corporations to bribe the oppressors and then profit of our consumerism is just idiotic in the longrun.
At the personal level
: invest time getting more medical R&D funding. Just work to get people to choose a disease of your choice in lieu of a pitcher of beer every once in awhile. We have tremendous reserve capacity here, with the potential ROI we've always had.
: spend some time thinking about the waste stream in your own life. What's the waste generated by your various purchases? Where does the spare heat in your house go? What dictates your travel costs? No one suggests buying less, only buying differently.
: spend some time thinking how to expand and empower International Rights organizations, knowing yeah, there's some give-and-take. Our current system of washing our hands of internal and external exploiters is not sustainable.
Just remember, people make what they're paid to make. You hire people through your consumption, and whether there's 'more' or 'less' in the world depends on what you hire them to do. Efficiencies create spare resources that allow further investment.
