The future (economics)

[Seeker]

A long read on the future seen through the eyes of economics. Shortages, worker pay, Russia war, energy growth and more...
It's bleak.

https://us.yahoo.com/finance/news/putin-war-disaster-global-economy-150000140.html

[Bibio]

everything is bleak on yahoo.... ooohhh and nobody can predict the future....

[Ruffy]

I've never quite understood why we should care about "the economy" as a thing. Surely it's just a mixture of other things that are more meaningful?

[keith_d]

I only skimmed through the Yahoo article, but I didn't see anything new or exciting.

In summary, there are too many people in the world wanting the lifestyle we currently have in the west. As a result we're using up natural resources faster and faster, both to supply our lifestyle and for the aspirations of the rest of the world.

Obviously, this means the cost to extract each tonne of raw materials will gradually rise as we use up the easily accessible resources. Whether that means producing oil from inaccessible reserves, or mining poorer and poorer quality ore. Technology can sometimes reduce these costs for a while but the long term trend can only be upward.

Given human nature, this is going to result in conflict over access to the remaining resources, whether that be water along the Nile, or iron and coal in Ukraine.

If you think this is a new idea, check out "An Essay on the Principle of Population" published in 1798.

[redtrummy]

Over population is an obvious problem, but the only government to tackle it head on was worryingly a Communist regime (as far as I am aware.) Reduction of numbers is not easily achieved naturally, with our ageing population someone has to work to keep me in my dotage years!.

[keith_d]

Not just overpopulation. There's also increasing expectations and diminishing natural resources. Together that's a recipe for trouble.

[Bibio]

as long as we all have our smartphones we will be fine......