by Grimnir » Thu 11 Nov 2004, 16:32:59
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JohnDenver', 'T')his argument assumes that collapse is the only possible fate for an advanced civilization, and ignores advanced civilizations (like the Chinese) which never did collapse or disappear.
No; the argument in the original article boils down to "if people are smart, it is impossible for society to collapse". I refuted that by pointing to specific examples of smart societies that
had collapsed, and made no claims regarding ones that had survived. The correct position is that some smart societies survive, and some collapse despite all their human ingenuity.
I struggle to understand the whole ANWR thing. Surely the administration is smart enough to realize there isn't oil there to supply the US economy for any length of time. Perhaps they're already looking ahead to a day when the US economy will be forced to consume a whole lot less, and the Alaska reserves start to look like a whole lot more? Or maybe they intend to set it aside as a reserve for the military should the Middle East decide to quit selling in the middle of a war.