3. Limited Planet Earth

3.3 Insights

What can we learn from these two possible futures, given that we don’t know which of them will actually come to pass?
Well, even though the amount of suffering differs greatly, both versions share far more similarities than differences. The world still consists of many sovereign states, the economic system remains unchanged, there are conflicts over resources, and humanity is venturing into space.

We can now answer the question posed at the beginning of the chapter: Would it be a good idea to slow down progress? No, because limiting resource consumption is not enforceable; therefore, rapid technological progress is the only way out of the resource scarcity trap.

On the other hand, listening to the simple populist answers that currently so many flock to, does more harm than good. Acting out of fear of technological progress—slowing it down through laws and bureaucracy, isolating oneself, shutting off from the world, and denying all scientific insights—just makes it much more likely that we will end up losing the race.

For the ideas of new systems I intend to design later, this means: they should be resilient, able to withstand external attacks, and capable of handling tensions arising from resource scarcity. In case we find ourselves in the first scenario, lose the race, and have to endure in a world of limited resources.
And they should promote technological development, to increase the likelihood that we win the race.