It may not sound like much of a quibble, but there really is a difference between regarding capitalism as a virtue-in-itself powerful enough that we ought to be doing it—that any future in which, say, money fades and people go back to ad-hoc barter, is therefore sad regardless of whether standards of living have otherwise gone up or down—versus regarding capitalism as a powerful tool suited to current conditions.
Think of the virtues of rationality. I’d be therefore sad if no one ever had cause to resort to them again, post-nanotech, regardless of whether standards of living had gone up or down.
This firmly identifies me as a member of the Bayesian Conspiracy rather than the Capitalist Conspiracy.
It may not sound like much of a quibble, but there really is a difference between regarding capitalism as a virtue-in-itself powerful enough that we ought to be doing it—that any future in which, say, money fades and people go back to ad-hoc barter, is therefore sad regardless of whether standards of living have otherwise gone up or down—versus regarding capitalism as a powerful tool suited to current conditions.
Think of the virtues of rationality. I’d be therefore sad if no one ever had cause to resort to them again, post-nanotech, regardless of whether standards of living had gone up or down.
This firmly identifies me as a member of the Bayesian Conspiracy rather than the Capitalist Conspiracy.