For all of you who are genuinely interested in Meadows' system theory
here's the first two of a running cybershow series [0,1] talking about
levearage points in a modern context.
I would say that the main objective of the current system is to grow. We measure this with the GDP. This growth is necessary for the current system to survive, to pay our debts or keep our jobs, but is also incompatible with reducing carbon emissions [1]
If we could imagine new objectives we can change the paradigm. For instance we could try to have a carbon dividend as a complement to jobs creation [2].
It usually cures cancer. The current government concentrates wealth in the hands of the few. Less than 1% of the population owns nearly 50% of the wealth.
Wealth inequality here is growth of the richest few. That's why the economy by some measures is doing great - the rich are getting richer.
I don't see where you are getting the word purpose from. I assume you mean goal. If you want to place any outcome in the place of the major or most important outcome, then I arbitrarily declare our government's goal is to move paperclips, as that is an outcome.
I need to study that list of logical fallacies, because obviously curing cancer is the purpose of chemo, and suggesting otherwise is ridiculous.
Consider a graph in which one side shows how easy it is to achieve a goal, and the other side shows how useful it is,
At the beginning of industrialisation we were solving easy and useful problems. For example, sanitation, refrigeration, etc.
Now we're solving problems that are not only useless but potentially destructive, such as the attention economy, artificial intelligence and planned obsolescence. At the same time, these problems use up a lot of energy and cause pollution.
This. Increasing renewables without decreasing non-renewables just means... more net emissions. I think statistics on usage of non-renewables are a better indicator of progress than stats on usage of renewables
Michael Burry, one of the guys that shorted the house market in 2008, started to invest in water since 2013
From Wiki:
"In 2013, Burry reopened his hedge fund, this time called Scion Asset Management, filing reports as an exempt reporting adviser (ERA) active in the state of California and approved by the SEC.[19] He has focused much of his attention on investing in water, gold, and farm land. He has said, "Fresh, clean water cannot be taken for granted. And it is not—water is political, and litigious."[20]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Burry
We should all have a personal postal code that would link to our current address.
When we change our address we would link the postal code to the new directory. By having this the companies would not know where we live and we would have a place to select the mail we want.
That would be nice. However, the postal service is required to deliver your mail, and they make money by doing so. They have no interest in reducing mail and in fact have been advertising their “Every Door Direct Mail” service which is nearly impossible to opt out of. Look for “EDDM” label on mail and you’ll see what I mean.
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