The future will be better than we think if politicians don’t ruin it

[Valin]

Washington Examiner: Glenn H. Reynolds

3/3/12

 

I’m reading “Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think” by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, and it’s a good and highly encouraging book. But I believe that their technological optimism, though justified, also needs to be qualified.

 

Science and technology are wonderful, but there’s nothing in this world that politicians can’t manage to screw up if they get their hands on it. And given the particularly low quality of our politicians today, this is something for all of us to worry about.

 

Ironically, this point is made by the authors’ opening anecdote. As recounted by Pliny the Elder, a goldsmith proudly displayed to the Roman Emperor Tiberius a shiny plate he’d made from a new metal extracted from clay (aluminum) using a secret method only he understood.

 

The emperor was indeed impressed: He saw this new shiny metal as a possible threat to the value of his large gold and silver stockpiles, so instead of rewarding the goldsmith, he had him beheaded.

 

The authors’ point is that eventually, aluminum became dirt-cheap, thanks to advances in technology. That’s true enough — but it’s also true that because of Tiberius, that happened nearly 2,000 years later.

 

(Snip)

 

 

“Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think”

 

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke