You may have mentioned this in another articles, but what opinions do you have on space travel, exploration, and development?
Obviously, it is not a solution to the problems of industrial capitalism, but would it still exist in some form under degrowth eco-socialism?
Even in a steady-state society that is either not growing or growing very gradually, there is use for things such as ie weather satellites and so on.
Also, barring a completely de-industrialized agrarian planet, a probe or space-telescope every year or two is a negligible share of the planets productivity.
Obviously, in the near term, we and our near descendants are going to have our hands full managing things Earthside, but in the very long term, would a larger-scale expansion of humanity past Earth and into the greater universe still happen under your utopia?
I haven’t written about it, but I agree with you. My concern with the application of any technology is that the cost-benefit analysis must come out ahead for humanity and our ecosystem. As you mention, the current calculus only determines whether or not it benefits capitalists, which is obviously unjust. But if we were to move to a political economy that accounts for the fundamental equality of all human beings and the irreplaceable importance of our ecosystem, then such decisions would face a different criteria. And if any technology passed that criteria, then great, let’s go for it.
We need more of this envisioning of what a better future will look like. To the 3 sectors you chose to focus on I would add the obvious : agriculture. This sector needs to grow immensely but in a totally different direction than it is currently taking.
You're overoptimisitic. We should be rationing energy in the global North, prioritising infrastructure adaptation, local resilience including food production/distribution. I'm v. dubious about the medical advances. We might need to accept that life returns to a level of precarity that the West has excluded for itself - for massive profits, pollution and in some cases, severe harm.
You may have mentioned this in another articles, but what opinions do you have on space travel, exploration, and development?
Obviously, it is not a solution to the problems of industrial capitalism, but would it still exist in some form under degrowth eco-socialism?
Even in a steady-state society that is either not growing or growing very gradually, there is use for things such as ie weather satellites and so on.
Also, barring a completely de-industrialized agrarian planet, a probe or space-telescope every year or two is a negligible share of the planets productivity.
Obviously, in the near term, we and our near descendants are going to have our hands full managing things Earthside, but in the very long term, would a larger-scale expansion of humanity past Earth and into the greater universe still happen under your utopia?
I haven’t written about it, but I agree with you. My concern with the application of any technology is that the cost-benefit analysis must come out ahead for humanity and our ecosystem. As you mention, the current calculus only determines whether or not it benefits capitalists, which is obviously unjust. But if we were to move to a political economy that accounts for the fundamental equality of all human beings and the irreplaceable importance of our ecosystem, then such decisions would face a different criteria. And if any technology passed that criteria, then great, let’s go for it.
We need more of this envisioning of what a better future will look like. To the 3 sectors you chose to focus on I would add the obvious : agriculture. This sector needs to grow immensely but in a totally different direction than it is currently taking.
Strongly agreed there
You're overoptimisitic. We should be rationing energy in the global North, prioritising infrastructure adaptation, local resilience including food production/distribution. I'm v. dubious about the medical advances. We might need to accept that life returns to a level of precarity that the West has excluded for itself - for massive profits, pollution and in some cases, severe harm.
“Despite notable bureaucratic and political fuck-ups along the way, the lightning quick creation of a reasonably effective vaccine”
Yikes. Reasonably effective tool of genocide, maybe.
So glad to see universal free LASIK in here.
Already the case in Cuba!