In Poul Anderson's "Lodestar," the new Supermetals company sells industrially valuable supermetals to already established companies in the Polesotechnic League.
In Anderson's "Starfog," the discoverers of the Cloud Universe cluster will sell abundant iron, gold, mercury, tungsten, bismuth, uranium and transuranics to civilizations in several spiral arms of the galaxy.
This progression has taken us from a large part of the Earth to a small part of the galaxy to a vaster volume of the galaxy. But it is the time travel scenario that we are reading currently. Alternative histories are a welcome addition to future histories.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
These stories by Anderson and Stirling also shows us how free enterprise economics works---when it's allowed to. It shows us how beneficial it is, long term, even if the men beginning the process had no interest.
I also thought of the t'Kelans of "Territory," The profits from the innovations Old Nick would introduce were what the natives of that planet cared about, not altruism. But those "selfishly motivated" innovations would still save their planet, not the failed do-gooding of the Esperancians.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
There was a time before free enterprise could work, there is a time when it produces a vast surplus of wealth and there can be a time when it has made itself redundant by developing advanced technology that produces an even greater surplus which makes economic competition no longer necessary.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
No, free enterprise works whenever it's given a chance, not when its harassed, maligned, taxed, and crushingly "regulated" by bungling and incompetent gov'ts. That kind of nonsense also stimulates cartelization, another bad thing.
Sorry, no, I don't believe in stuff like advanced tech creating so much wealth free enterprise and competition becomes unnecessary. Human beings are simply not like that.
Free enterprise CREATES new wealth, not merely accumulates it, which is exactly what entrepreneurs like Elon Musk are doing.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
No.
I do not advocate harassing, maligning, taxing or regulating free enterprise either bunglingly or incompetently. Please stop using the word, "nonsense." Your over the top language makes it very difficult just to discuss an issue. Economic competition itself leads to larger companies and monopolies which fuse with states and with finance capital.
I am talking about what will be possible in a later stage of social and technological development, not advocating harassing etc here and now.
Sorry, no, I am not trying to get you to believe in any "stuff"! I say this every time that you say you don't believe it. We STILL talk past each other.
Of course abundant wealth will make competition unnecessary. That is obvious. Human beings are not unchanging and they live differently in different social conditions. They will not complain that anyone else (foreigners, immigrants, Jews, Irish, blacks) is stealing their share of the common wealth if everyone is getting their share and more (no homelessness, no food shortages, public health, education and transport for all etc). Human beings are simply not going to continue being bigoted and petty-minded when their entire upbringing and community fosters personal development and cooperation instead of the opposite as now.
Human labour by hand and brain creates wealth. Musk does not create all the wealth that he has accumulated in his trillions. He invests and employs people.
Of course free enterprise is one way in which the creation of wealth has been and is being organized. I do not deny that. I assert it. I have asserted it. You manage to deny things that have not been said. Can we either leave the subject or discuss it properly? (Preferably the former, I think.)
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Incorrect, for more than a century that is exactly leftists have been doing, maligning and defaming free enterprise economics.
Economic competition is exactly what big companies don't want. It's the use of political influence to stifle new competition which is the problem. Because IWHBD. The solution is to resist that natural human inclination to seek and concentrate power and make it possible for new companies and their innovations to arise.
Abundant wealth will not eliminate the human drive to be competitive. That is why I don't believe in those "changed social conditions" you hope for. If men don't have to compete for wealth, they will compete for status and power, or seek revenge for perceived injuries, real or actual. Of course, humans will continue to be petty-minded, bigoted, etc. IWHBD.
Wrong, without the insight, driving will, and charisma of Musk those workers would never have contributed to achieving the goals set by him.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Incorrect. I am talking about what I am saying now, not about what leftists have been doing for more than a century. THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO begins by praising how capitalism has released productive forces that had been buried in the Earth.
Economic competition turns small companies into big companies. That is the logic of the system that you defend. It is not what human beings do, it is what a particular competitive economic system does.
Abundant wealth will eliminate the need for economic competition. I have replied about "status and power" innumerable times. Do you genuinely not remember what has been said before?
Of course human beings will not continue to be petty minded, bigoted etc. Many are not that now. You don't believe in changed social conditions? I am not trying to get you to believe in anything! And social conditions change all the time.
Wrong. Without a system that produces people like Musk, workers will be able to work towards their own goals. (Without Musk, workers will not be able to achieve Musk's goals is a tautology!)
If, whatever I say, your response is to say, "Disagree...," "Incorrect...," "Wrong...," etc, then this will go on forever to no good purpose so, if we are going to do it, can we do it by email instead of in a combox?
Paul.
Kapr, Paul!
Deadlock and impasse. Best to end this discussion.
Ad astra! Sean
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