Thread: The Mars Colony
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Old 07-08-10, 02:25 PM   #9
Oberon
Lucky Jack
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
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People make their lives uncomfortable for themselves, nothing we can do about that. The poorest, most wretched nations in the world are the way they are because they just refuse to trade freely. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. Some nations want to trade freely but Western nations keep them out with tariffs and quotas. We should definitely do something about that.
True, true, I cannot deny this, there are certainly quite a few nations out there who are pretty good at shooting themselves in the foot, Zimbabwe and the DPRK come immediately to mind. Likewise there are some who would do more if they had more to do it with, sorting the wheat from the chaff is the foreign aid departments job and I'm glad its not mine. Of course, there is the risk that nations will come to exist wholly on foreign aid and never walk on their own two feet, I think this is another problem which is prevalent in some countries, particularly in Africa.
However, one problem which keeps cropping up in my mind is the birth rates and death rates and the widening gap between the two. Don't get me wrong, it's lovely to have your friends and family around for longer (in most cases) however at the same time there is an extra burden on resources, particularly in an aging population as Europe is finding out now. So, that takes resources from other areas and puts it into caring for the elderly, and that's good...but then you've got to encourage people to have babies to your population growth from going negative (and your tax income with it) so you've got to put more resources into child care...because you need your parents to keep working to keep the economy going, so that's more resources in...and that's just things like financial and work hours. When you factor in food supplies and water supplies as well, then things start getting a bit tighter.
What do I think it will mean? Well...quite simply the richer nations will continue on as normal but with higher food prices and the poorer nations will have mass famines. So, not much change there.
Then of course, there's the possibility of Peak Oil...I don't know precisely where to stand on that, but it's going to run out at some point, and that won't be such a great time if we haven't developed alternatives to an extent that they can be phased in as crude oil is phased out.


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Define "fractured". I'm of the firm belief that order generated without design will far outstrip the plans that men consciously contrive. I think it's great that there are billions of individuals on this planet with different beliefs and needs and wants and ideologies, so long as they don't try to force them upon others. Our differences are what make us so successful. We trade and commune and work because of our differences. Where we are permitted, a million of us working to accomplish seperate ends can build a society in a matter of days. Where we are not permitted, a million of us working together can build a dam or something, in like, 5 years. Ask Western China.
Our differences make us so successful and also what make us so conflicted. Of course, this is inevitable on a planet where the fittest survive at the expense of the unfit, however it can also slow things down in bureaucracy and it can lead to corruption due to each man trying to profit himself over others.

I'm no communist, I used to be quite left, but I'm more central now because I've seen how communism falls apart when exposed to reality, but some parts of intense competition is damaging whilst the others are indeed beneficial.

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I think you already know the answer to that. Nothing unites people like an external threat. In the case of a hostile extraterrestrial event, you can bet that the whole planet would be out for alien blood.
True...although if they were smart enough they'd play us off against each other.


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What's SG:A? Stargate.. something? I'm not current on any sci-fi shows other than Firefly.
I'll be in my bunk.



I...I started so well in typing this but it's kind of faltered out. I blame the weather...too friggin hot for this islander, where's that fabled British rain gone? But I do see where you're coming from UnderseaLcpl, but you cannot deny that mankind can be very shortsighted...but thankfully, hopefully, now we can see a change with people thinking more about their actions and how they will effect their children, be it economically or be it environmentally.
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