Don't pressume my sentiment or opinion about these issues.
In a stable population and a flat economy competition for resources (whether social resources, mates, power, services or goods) demands there be takers and taken-from. In a growing 'economy' there can be 'some growth' and 'more growth' so long as everyone works. It isn't zero-sum, and winners needn't impoverish losers.
In a flat economy, all progress must come from improvements in efficiency, which displaces people from people-work, making the displaced more or less wards of the state.
Everyone points to oil as a limiting factor. Not an issue - ever. At some point our capacity to increase food production will peak, primarily limited by access to water, but also by nature's way of fighting back against pest control and nitrogen fertilizers. That's the issue - peak food (peak water), not peak oil.
The next global war will be fought to obtain and control arable land (probably over control of central Africa). It remains to be seen whether loss of life in such a war is a form of self-correcting outcome.
It's OK to be acquisitive. It's OK to decide to take risk, expect reward, to work hard, to exercise self-denial in the present and save, so you can spend in the future. Unfortunately these Calvinist ideas are presently associated with dead white men and have dropped out of favor.
What we've forgotten is modesty. There really IS an 'enough,' but permitting the State to set the limit is dangerous. In the past most people stopped when they decided they had reached their own target. They were modest about and generous with wealth.
Modest and generous. My father always said, "Leave something on the table for the next guy."
We've forgotten about the next guy. In return, the State is going to step in and 'remember' the next guy for us.
Last edited by monochrome; 02-27-2016 at 09:30 AM.