We should tax wealth apart from income...and put a backstop to prevent capital flight

[NoOneMan]

154. And I am to yours

I've spent a very long time advocating for equality, etc, but I've finally seen the entire system as something malevolent to our very survival and condition, and not something I want to continually prop up and along.

However, we're no worse slaves than most peasants have been since the advent of agriculture and much more physically comfortable.

No, you're no worse. The same cannot of course be said of many Africans facing famine and drought. Something that I still find disturbing is that despite every comfort we are given, mental illness, depression and distress is quite prevalent. I cannot completely agree that these "comforts" are really compatible with how natural man (according to our evolutionary biology) might "prefer" to live (defining preference by states that produce optimal chemical balances in the brain). In any case, we can not clearly argue that we are "happier" than a foraging population that has far less in terms of comforts and technology, but rather, we are no worse off than any other group of agriculturalists.

At that point it is likely that pandemics and environmental degradation will already have triggered a mass extinction.

The killer is going to be famine most likely.

So, we have to save the world or perish.

The world will be fine. Its industrial civilization that is on the brink. Most people looking to save something are trying to save their standard of living by striking a balance, but we are so so far out of possible balance. And with billions more clamouring from the third world to live like us, we haven't a shot.

All I'm interested in are solutions to that problem

The problem is our separation with nature due to being consumed by a game system that depends infinite growth fueled via environmental exploitation. Eliminate the game and the problem ceases to exist. If you are looking for solutions from the government to "fix" everything, its not going to happen; the rules of the game prevent this. The only solutions we can obtain are probably at a regional network to establish resilience (like Transition networks).

What do you think?

I think what we do has zero impact on the system. Any reduction in consumption we make frees up resources for the system to grow via other means. So, do what you must to enjoy life. Every second. If it is in your conscious to raise awareness, go ahead. If you wish to build resilience and stretch out your existence, go ahead. Just don't waste a second, but let go of the notion that we can save everything in my opinion. Don't fill our moments with struggling for a machine that will ultimately destroy us; struggle instead for your humanity and embrace everything it has to offer you.