Crank linguistics
Sarcasm aside, I do resonate slightly with this position. Humans are creatures of fear. We seem (at least in anything I can see) to gravitate to the frightening instead of the happy. And yet our lives are far better than they were in some "basic" ways. We do have more time to think, to dream, to wonder - though we also have more time to argue, to complain, to fight. We have more time to be creative, cook for taste not survival, wear fashion not need based, etc.
And having spent the better part of two months "digging" (i was an unaffiliated undergrad, i didn't get to do anything remotely important or difficult) at chaco canyon and saying "this is how we lived", i really appreciated that next micky d's and my local safeway.
I also have wondered if we are always going to create the next big "thing" to scare us. y2k, global warming, solar storms. it's not that these aren't real, it's that we thrive in them, if that makes any sense.
Ridley is a proponent of vulgar Cornucopianism. The Cornucopian vs. Malthusian debate is really just two competing cultural narratives: The steady march of progress and free enterprise vs. the world's going to hell in an environmental handbasket.
I'm trying to imagine what the compromise between those two ideas would be, but all I can come up with is "the steady march of hell in a free enterprise handbasket."
Ridley's book hilariously back-peddles when it reaches the current financial crisis. I still have it, maybe I'll write a review during a break :}
Let me guess, "With notably rare exceptions..."?
Heh, yes. His critique of agrarian past-worship is rather good, the rest of the book was MEMES/CAPITALISM!
"With notably rare exceptions, Japanese nuclear reactors have been secure from earthquakes."
I saw that one and was wondering if it was a serious or joke point?
Frankly, it actually is a very serious point, and a valid one. Japan has the single highest concentration of earth quakes in the world in an extremely densely populated area. They have 16 nuclear power plants on the main island, and have only had one major accident since the end of US occupation.
isn't that worthy of "with one major exception", which by the way, has not yet caused any lives to be lost, though teh loss of life from the tsunami (which seems so overlooked in the 'hyped' accident) is in the 10s of thousands?
just saying.