Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
This, and Alan's comment about refrigerators in the gift economy, is like saying in 1960 how could we ever walk on the moon.

We started with the space program by defining the values that were important to us and then we hired the engineers.

The economic system we have and the values that drive it have bankrupted our natural resources, handcuffed us to soul-sucking jobs, and dismantled our sense of community.

So, let's tinker with that model a bit and see if we can get back some of the things we've lost along the way.
I’m inclined to agree with Alan. It’s hard to see how a system of “you give what you want and I’ll give what I want” will somehow provide all the coronary bypasses, interstate highways and attack submarines we need. We started the space program by soliciting bids from corporations who had previously built up the needed expertise in the pursuit of profit.

I think maybe people are romanticizing “things we lost along the way” and underestimating the benefits of economic competition.