Economical growth is taking and taking

MrDinky · May 30, 2004

Quote from callmeput:

Do you think that a world where there were a limit of how much a person could own would work?

No one is allowed to own more than letÂ´s say $500 000. The rest is put in a basket and shared with everyone on this planet.

Okay, I'll run with your idea a little bit... let's say you made your $500,000. After this point, why would you continue to work? In fact, why would you work in the first place? If you just sit on your ass long enough you'll get free money from this "basket."

Except there's one problem. There's no money in this basket unless you believe the general population is so altruistic that they will continue to work for free after they've made their half mil.

callmeput · May 30, 2004

I am sure there are people who would continue to work as teachers, nurses, programmers, flowerists, dentists and farmers.

And they would just because they want a REAL purpose with life. Not some that can be bought

callmeput · May 30, 2004

Sure some people would want to sit in their sofa eating ice cream all day. Well thatÂ´s good for the ice cream company..

But as we more and more move away from the $$$ hypnotized minds we find inner values.

Some people have already. Voluntary workers in many fields for example

http://noosphere.princeton.edu/ Fascinating things!

trade4succes · May 30, 2004

Quote from callmeput:

I am sure there are people who would continue to work as teachers, nurses, programmers, flowerists, dentists and farmers.

And they would just because they want a REAL purpose with life. Not some that can be bought

I, for one, would stop working today :-P

(yes and maybe do a little volunteerwork here and there, because the world would be an entire mess, with mass poverty etc.)

IndexTrader · May 30, 2004

I'm all for helping the poor/homeless.
But consider this...make it easy/good/simple for the poor and their number will double.

Also, if so many people are hungry how come nobody dies from hunger?
A lot of statistics are just plain bullshit.
Reminds me of some Hollywood movies where there's shooting everywhere but nobody dies.
btw, i'm speaking about usa only. I understand the situation is different in many poor countries with people dying of famine.

But at the same time many countries are more prosperous than ever.

Quote from Chairman:

It has been said that if funding was shifted from military operations in just the USA alone, there would be more than enough money to feed the entire nation. Military funding world wide is in the trillions. If each nation agreed to provide a certain percentage of their military funding, I strongly feel that ending world hunger would also reduce the number of wars.

It has also been said that the amount of food that goes to waste in the USA alone could feed every hungry being.

But when will we actually decide to make any changes?

newbunch · May 30, 2004

Quote from callmeput:

Capitalism is a symptom of our disease called ego i believe. It is not more natural than anything else.

Capitalism is economic freedom. Freedom to work. Freedom to consume. Freedom to invest. But I guess you are against freedom.

newbunch · May 30, 2004

Quote from callmeput:

I am sure there are people who would continue to work as teachers, nurses, programmers, flowerists, dentists and farmers.

And they would just because they want a REAL purpose with life. Not some that can be bought

Yup, a certain percentage of the population would continue to work. And the remaining percentage will mooch off of them.

newbunch · May 30, 2004

Quote from IndexTrader:

I'm all for helping the poor/homeless.
But consider this...make it easy/good/simple for the poor and their number will double.

Also, if so many people are hungry how come nobody dies from hunger?
A lot of statistics are just plain bullshit.
Reminds me of some Hollywood movies where there's shooting everywhere but nobody dies.
btw, i'm speaking about usa only. I understand the situation is different in many poor countries with people dying of famine.

But at the same time many countries are more prosperous than ever.

So true. In this country (and most industrialized countries), the poorer you are, the more likely you are to be overweight or obese. Starving people are not a concern here.

maxpi · May 30, 2004

I have had my salary capped by the corporation that I work for for several years. The first thing I did was to make a list of "what can I get out of the place before I get out of the place" and the second list was "what can I pull out of the deal". Believe me, once that salary cap went into place I went immediately from one of the very productive members and non-trouble makers of society to one of the least productive and troublemaking. What the hell else is there to do if you can't get a raise?? To say the least it does not bring out the best in one.

Max

sportinlife · May 31, 2004

There would be little incentive to innovate because there would be little reward. Innovation requires devotion and personal risk. How would you reward the people that take that on? A medal? A pat on the back?

Doing it for the good of society? You can do that now.

Personal freedom is intrinsically tied up with property rights. The more you limit people's property rights (by, for example, limiting what they can own) the more you limit their personal freedom.