Re:The Gentle Singularity
by theptip on Tuesday June 10, 2025 @09:01PM
(#44243208)
One lens is the “Thrive/Survive” axis. As more people thrive, they have more space for individualism, compassion for others, etc. This can be used to explain the arc of “moral progress” over time.
A follow up would be to observe that in many places today, inequality causes substantial sub-populations to feel that they are not thriving, or even declining though GDP is increasing. Which would explain the rage of the middle-American and many Europeans.
If you buy all this, then there is a clear path by which radical abundance resolves the problems. Same as how the Baby Boomers were a very low-polarization generation; when everybody is thriving it’s a lot easier to get along.
Personally I worry more about the possible worlds where technology doesn’t bring us radical abundance. Declining empires with nuclear weapons don’t sound conducive to a fun time.
A follow up would be to observe that in many places today, inequality causes substantial sub-populations to feel that they are not thriving, or even declining though GDP is increasing. Which would explain the rage of the middle-American and many Europeans.
If you buy all this, then there is a clear path by which radical abundance resolves the problems. Same as how the Baby Boomers were a very low-polarization generation; when everybody is thriving it’s a lot easier to get along.
Personally I worry more about the possible worlds where technology doesn’t bring us radical abundance. Declining empires with nuclear weapons don’t sound conducive to a fun time.