year 2017, week 35.

Contemplating a shift.

Monday

I have talked about my feelings of populating the desert southwest a fair amount here. I have covered the impact that population density has on the limited resources here. I want to see a future where we live closer together and are sustainable in every aspect of our existence. I can go about on and on about that but this week I want to talk about how we also need to shift the structure of our economy. To move away from consumerism and toward being content. To use technology to societies advantage instead as a way to extract it’s money.

Tuesday

I often hear that a parents dream is that their kids have it better off. That they have better paying jobs, bigger houses, less struggle. I’m sure you’ve heard that too.

And I’m sure you’ve also read that millennials are ruining everything. That they expect everything handed to them yet don’t want to ‘earn’ it. To me that is the ultimate hypocrisy of our time (Trump withstanding). So do they not mean it when they talk about a better future for their kids? Or do they really not blame their kids for expecting a better life? Surely it isn’t both.

Regardless, I think it is time we move past that way of thinking. Because we millennials don’t need bigger houses and more money. The majority of us grew up with plenty and as the internet developed we had even more.

Wednesday

It was tough for generations past. I get that. They had to go through rations and drafts etc. We are lucky that we haven’t. But we shouldn’t be punished for it either. We need to realize that we need to live different because the circumstances are different.

Thursday

This is where technology comes in. We need to allow technology to make things easier for us. It will take away jobs but we can also use that to drive down cost of living. And if we do that over and over and buy less and less we can survive with less income.

I often think of comparisons between the millennials and the hippies. There are similar struggles with ideologies of “old” and “new”. Hippies wanted to live off the land in small groups of like mind people and work communally. Millennials want to live and work communally but on the other hand want to live in the city. I think this is in part because of the reality of population growth and of course technology. Millennials are not shunning societal norms like hippies did, instead they are embracing the advantages and working to limit the disadvantages.

Progress. An evolutionary step.

Friday

I can see a world where people work less, own less, enjoy more, and are generally happier all thanks to the shift in how we use technology. It will be a long struggle to get there. For sure. But it is a pretty interesting place.