Reply #8: OK, let me ask you this...

[IrateCitizen]

If we DO experience a significant ecological crisis, coupled with an attendant collapse of many of the systems and frameworks of modern civilization that we take for granted (i.e. electricity generation and distribution), how do you suppose there will be an electronic mass media? I'm not talking about rejecting these things -- I'm talking about a possible future in which they are no longer a possible reality, given the technology available to us.

Please don't do the disservice to everyone else on this thread by condescending to me about "allowing me to pick my century before the 20th". I'm not asking to go back in time. Hell, if I had my way, we'd move in the direction of becoming better stewards of the environment, moving away from "things" so much, develop greater community bonds -- while still seeking to improve and expand modern technology and communication (but in a much more earth-conscious manner). Somehow, though, I don't think any of us will be given the luxury of picking such a future.

As for the "greed" question, it's largely a reflection of the values that society places in higher regard. Since Western civilization places more regard on material wealth and power, then greed is a natural outcome. In societies that place more regard on altruism, wisdom and respect for elders, greed does not hold nearly as much sway. It WILL always be there, but there's absolutely no reason its status can't be seriously diminished in the heirarchy of values.

I wrote this thread as a corollary to Beetwasher's one that centered on despair. I apologize for attempting to approach the same topic from a perspective of guarded optimism.