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A comment on We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Systems Theorists Say. Parent comment

Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by bryanlarsen on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @11:01AM (#4505739)
A very common sentiment, but just wrong, in my opinion.

If there were fewer humans, the price of resources would drop, so we'd start using more of them frivolously, resulting in no significant benefit.

On the other hand, if there were more humans, the price of resources would rise, and we'd start using them more efficiently.

Quick quiz: what's the only commodity that has consistently risen in inflation-adjusted cost over the last few centuries, signalling that demand is greater than supply?

Answer: labour.

The large population of the world is what has allowed the intense specialization of the modern economy, leading to the technological revolution. Without the technological revolution we'd still be burning wood for heat, which is far more harmful on the environment than what we currently do, just to name one effect.

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Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by bryanlarsen on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @11:12AM (#4505800)
Heading off the inevitable "what about food?" comment.

Energy can be turned into food in a limited space very efficiently. Back of the envelope calculations show that a few hundred large nuclear power plants could feed the entire world. The only reason we don't do it this way is because it's cheaper to use the sun as a power source.

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Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by sp332 on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @11:26AM (#4505883)
Adjusting for inflation, the average wage in the US has stagnated since the 80's. What does that say?
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Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by bryanlarsen on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @11:44AM (#4506036)
As far as I understand, it's not the average wage that has stagnated, but the median wage.

That says something about the US, but nothing about the world. In the same time period the median wage across the world has increased dramatically, especially in China, India & Africa.

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Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by sp332 on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @01:05PM (#4506524)
Sorry if I was unclear. What does it say about the US?
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Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by pchristensen on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @11:40AM (#4506005)
How have worldwide wages changed during that period?
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Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by presidentender on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @11:56AM (#4506131)
It says we have enough "stuff," and so the demand for labor hasn't increased out of tune with the supply.

I suspect that the real average wage in the US would decrease quickly if falling wages weren't inconvenient to sitting politicians.

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Re:We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Syste... by learc83 on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @12:23PM (#4506315)
It might say that people are being compensated in other ways.

Or it might say that the US has access to lower wage labor in other countries.

Either way it says nothing about the global value of labor.

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