Not to ignore the rest of your post, but this is the point. This mindset of having 'limited resources' is the problem. Yes of course, the Earth has limited resources but the unstated second part of your statement is unlimited wants and needs. Which is what the classical economic problem has been in Capitalism, and which the Capitalist economic system attemps to solve.Originally Posted by Animeniax
For me, I would say yes there are limited resources but not unlimited needs. I would say there are 'Basic Needs' and 'Luxury Wants'. In an ideal world both should be satisfied, but priority should be given to the Basic needs for everyone, rather than focusing on providing niche luxury goods that only a small albeit rich part of humanity consumes. In this way I think the planet has enough resources to satisfy the basic needs of people. Such as food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education. In terms of resources the stuff is there. Its when everyone starts wanting an SUV to drive and having so much food that you grow fat and still throw more away and so on is when the problem begins. In this scenario, then yes, we are screwed.
But if governments focus on creating an environment where Basic needs are met first and foremost, then current populations can be supported. A lot of land for example isn't even being utilised for food production which could be. Like in Pakistan, which is the 15th largest agricultural producer in the world, yet a lot of the land there is not utilised for political reasons like feudalism. So its not that we don't have resources, just political issues to overcome. And halting populations to 1 child per family is asking for trouble, because of the reason I outlined in my earlier post.
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