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Willravel · 02-13-2009, 10:58 PM

I suspect the hope is that by the time we've reached a pinnacle in growth on Earth we can expand outward into interstellar economic growth. It's all very sci-fi, but it makes sense and it's the free market capitalist version of why we will eventually go into space. Me? I'd like to go because of scientific advancement, but there probably aren't enough people like me to invest in such a pricey adventure. Space-faring will become common when it becomes profitable, assuming we stick to a certain extent to our current economic models.

All that being, said, there are far too many variables in the equation to justify an expectation of continuing, exponential economic growth overall. I know it's fun to pretend that economics is simple, but when you see people with decades of experience and multiple doctorates still getting it wrong consistently, it's okay to admit that it's complicated. It's not okay to go into denial and support economic bubbles, which are the mask behind which the truth lies.

The saddest thing of all is that I'm rubbish with economics. I tried to take a very pragmatic approach in college and ended up arguing with my three different econ professors because a lot of what they were preaching, especially about debt and the monetary system, made absolutely no sense to me. It's not that I was right and they were wrong, nor was it that I was wrong and they right, it's just that I like to simplify things in order to solve them. I probably shouldn't even post in Tilted Economics, all things considered. Take it with a grain of salt, then, when I give the same simple suggestions I've been giving since long before October: get out of debt as soon as possible and do your best to stay out of debt, live slightly below your means and save up what you don't spend, always have at least a few months' worth of paychecks available to spend just in case, invest only what you can afford to lose, treat other people as you would like to be treated (just a good rule of thumb), and you're probably right not to trust other people 100% with your money.

02-13-2009, 10:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	I suspect the hope is that by the time we've reached a pinnacle in growth on Earth we can expand outward into interstellar economic growth. It's all very sci-fi, but it makes sense and it's the free market capitalist version of why we will eventually go into space. Me? I'd like to go because of scientific advancement, but there probably aren't enough people like me to invest in such a pricey adventure. Space-faring will become common when it becomes profitable, assuming we stick to a certain extent to our current economic models. All that being, said, there are far too many variables in the equation to justify an expectation of continuing, exponential economic growth overall. I know it's fun to pretend that economics is simple, but when you see people with decades of experience and multiple doctorates still getting it wrong consistently, it's okay to admit that it's complicated. It's not okay to go into denial and support economic bubbles, which are the mask behind which the truth lies. The saddest thing of all is that I'm rubbish with economics. I tried to take a very pragmatic approach in college and ended up arguing with my three different econ professors because a lot of what they were preaching, especially about debt and the monetary system, made absolutely no sense to me. It's not that I was right and they were wrong, nor was it that I was wrong and they right, it's just that I like to simplify things in order to solve them. I probably shouldn't even post in Tilted Economics, all things considered. Take it with a grain of salt, then, when I give the same simple suggestions I've been giving since long before October: get out of debt as soon as possible and do your best to stay out of debt, live slightly below your means and save up what you don't spend, always have at least a few months' worth of paychecks available to spend just in case, invest only what you can afford to lose, treat other people as you would like to be treated (just a good rule of thumb), and you're probably right not to trust other people 100% with your money.