We should also step back and really look at the bigger picture, because there are quite a few social, economic and environmental issues that advanced technology are not going to solve, but if applied to our current situation, could well provide more dangers, than solutions. Think gene editing viruses, for example.
When we are talking millions and billions of people, it's not culture and politics, but biology and physics that define and explain the processes at work.
For example, as the executive and regulatory function of society, government is analogous to the central nervous system. The function of which is to referee our emotions and desires, in order to best fit them to our environment. Much as government has to referee the various factions and needs of a healthy society.
While money and banking, as the collective social contract enabling society and the system for circulating it, is analogous to blood and the circulation system.
Yet as these tactile, mobile, goal seeking organisms, we treat money as a commodity to mine from society. The signal to extract and store.
Such that the medium has become the message. The tool has becomes the god.
Given this notational value functions as a contract, where the asset has to eventually be backed by a debt, our collective addiction to the accumulation of abstract wealth depends on parabolic debt creation.
One way to generate debt is constantly squeeze the money flowing through the general economy, while expanding the social need to acquire in order to be part of the community. Which draws the saved money back into circulation. Even if it requires environmental destruction far beyond what is necessary, while ever more of the population drowns in debt and so can't afford to be concerned for the consequences.
The other primary method is having the government as debtor of last resort. The elephant in the room is the capital markets couldn't function, without the government siphoning off trillions in surplus investment money. Which would explain why all the wars being fought with this money are so overwhelmingly inept, but no one is held responsible.
The secret sauce of capitalism is public debt backing private wealth.
Econ 101 says money is both medium of exchange and store of value, but a medium is dynamic, while a store is static. Blood is a medium, while fat is a store. Roads are a medium, parking lots are a store. The hallway is a medium, while the hall closet is a store. The average five year old understands the difference, but economists haven't much perspective on reality, because it doesn't write their paycheck.
The functionality of money is its fungibility. We own it like we own the section of road we are using, or the air and water flowing through our bodies. It is a quintessential public utility and needs to be understood as such. It's not our picture on it, we don't hold the copyrights and are not personally responsible for its value.
The fact is that there isn't sufficient investment potential for everyone to save enough, but we do save for many of the same reasons, so the premise of the commons will eventually have to be resurrected and updated, with sufficient circuit breakers actually connecting rights and responsibilities.
Government was private once and now the banks are having their own; "Let them eat cake." moment.
So if you want to fix the future and not just build a better gadget, or patent another virus, these are the real issues that need to be addressed.
We are linear, goal oriented creatures in a cyclical, reciprocal, feedback generated reality and more is not always better. Faster burns hotter and quicker.
Physics and biology.
