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C00002 00002 ā23-SEP-74 1202 ESS,JMC Thanks for your comments: I do not wish to
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ā23-SEP-74 1202 ESS,JMC Thanks for your comments: I do not wish to
assume that most people share my tastes. In particular, I respect
the right of a person who just wants to sit in front of his TV and
drink beer, engage in an occasional hot drag race with his big car,
etc. The new title for the opus is "Technology and the Pursuit of
Happiness" changed from "Technology and the Quality of Life" which
suggests a more definite opinion than I wish to express about what
constitutes a high quality life. The only presupposition, which I
shall make explicit, is that more choice is better than less.
Perhaps some scenarios would be good, but since I don't wish to
design a uniform future, or even design the future at all, they would
have to be varied. You will also note that some of the ideas compete
with each other or will make others obsolete. As to the Sierras: In
my opinion, they really will stand quite a lot more backpacking than
they now get with a small infusion of toilets. A factor of 3
reduction in population won't help, because the increased backpacking
reflects an increase in the proportion of the population having
certain values rather than an increase in population
per se or even an increase in
prosperity. The removal of the toilets from Mt. Whitney through the
blind working of the wilderness law was a retrogressive step. The
Canadian Northwest Territories have 14,000 people in an area larger
than California, so there is room for wilderness packpacking for all
that are likely to want it in the near future. However, think how
prominent the Japanese have become in international climbing, and
imagine what it will be like when the Chinese do their share of it.
It seems to me that a picture of what society will be like when
everyone's material needs are met can be obtained by looking at an
upper class society at a time when the upper class gave those below
them almost no thought, considering them part of the machinery. The
society was stable and rather varied and preferable to being poor.
The much larger size of a future prosperous society will permit a
greater absolute variety of life-styles, even though there is no way
or reason
to prevent the great majority from concentrating on a few of them.
Improved health will make a big difference even as compared to the
rich of former times. Thanks again for the comments.