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Re: Economists on ecology (Re: GOODBY MIKE!)
hardhead@mindspring.com (Mike Weber) writes:
>George Antony wrote:
>> ... the laws of the physical and biological worlds cannot be unthinkingly
>used > for human societies. Since humans are capable of creative thinking,
>human > societies are not necessarily limited by natural laws.
>Well, do tell! To imagine that humanity is exempt in any way from any
>natural law is to venture far beyond "creative thinking" into the realm of
>psychosis - profoundly out of touch with reality. This wishful
>hallucination seems to be a distinguishing characteristic of a great many
>highly "educated" persons.
Instead of some gleeful and silly verbal prancing around, you could for
a change indulge in some rational thinking, not necessarily creative one
at this stage.
I did not write that "humanity is exempt ... from ... natural law", this
distortion is merely a sad reflection of your shallow understanding of
the argument.
Much of the argument between ecologists and economists stems from the
assertion of SOME ecologists that we are running out of resource X,
hence we are doomed. This is a reasonable description of animal populations
whose life depends upon a number of resources and their scope to diversify
is very limited. Humans, however, can and have introduced new processes
that use different resources to overcome the scarcity of a certain resource.
Hence, the natural law of the exhaustion of resource X is at once applicable
in principle and not constraining for human society.
For examples: Cropping and animal husbandry overcame the increasing scarcity
of huntable/gatherable foods for an increasing population. The use of coal
and steel overcame the limitation in Britain on metallurgy and shipbuilding
caused by the cutting down of forests. Alternative sources of energy and
hydrocarbons are ready to be used as soon as the scarcity of easy-to- get-to
oil starts pushing up the price of crude oil.
DO try to think about this.
George Antony
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