[jimjam]

I am 73 and I see a period of change greater than any I have ever seen. It is mind boggling. Here are just two of many:

Technology is kicking in, big time. From 1960 to 2000, Quartz reported, U.S. manufacturing employment stayed roughly steady at around 17.5 million jobs. But between 2000 and 2010, thanks largely to digitization and automation, “manufacturing employment plummeted by more than a third,” which was “worse than any decade in U.S. manufacturing history.” And we’ve digitized only about 20 percent of the economy, meaning there’s tremendous technological change yet ahead. People are scared. Many are in a place never before experienced.... on the edge.

and

When I was born in 1944 there were about 2,000,000,000 people on the planet. Today …. about 7,600,000,000. The speed of increase will rapidly grow exponentially. Will we be standing shoulder to shoulder in the future? Not likely. Mass annihilation will kick in some way or another. In my opinion this simple fact is at the foundation of much of today's strife. Ever increasing numbers are competing for basic resources.

No more cruising, coasting along. Today's issues bear little resemblance to yesterday's issues and …. they are bigger and more acute. Democracy could very well be in it's twilight. We no longer have time for it. I see much war and strife in the future as increasing numbers of people compete for decreasing amounts of resources. Much of the political realignment we are seeing is based upon the existing leaderships being caught flat footed and neither foreseeing nor dealing effectively with the new realities. I give Trump credit for seeing the fear and anger amongst the people and cashing in on it. Will he use his power for the greatest good for the greatest number or will he simply use it to further enrich himself and the plutocracy? Time will tell.

On a personal note, with the benefit of hindsight, I and members of my generation had the good years. I'll be dead before the foundations of society crumble . While, again with the benefit of hindsight, this was all quite predictable.

[Beren]

I give Trump credit for seeing this new dynamic.

He identified and exploits a political market gap.

[One Degree]

Humans who have become too soft to make hard decisions will turn to totalitarian figures to save them out of despair when forced to face reality.

[One Degree]

Humans who have become too soft to make hard decisions will turn to totalitarian figures to save them out of despair when forced to face reality.

Humans will get through it, it is just a matter of how hard we make it on ourselves.

[Beren]

Are you talking to yourself, @One Degree?

[One Degree]

Are you talking to yourself, @One Degree?

Yes, either my iPad has a problem or I do. I think it is me. I keep thinking I hit ‘edit’, but I find out I hit ‘reply’.
The first few times I corrected it, but I have done it so often now I just accept it.

[Beren]

Yes, either my iPad has a problem or I do. I think it is me. I keep thinking I hit ‘edit’, but I find out I hit ‘reply’.
The first few times I corrected it, but I have done it so often now I just accept it.

It seems like a conversation rather than editing.

[One Degree]

It seems like a conversation rather than editing.

It really does. Maybe I should delete it before someone uses it as evidence to commit me.

[SolarCross]

On a personal note, with the benefit of hindsight, I and members of my generation had the good years. I'll be dead before the foundations of society crumble . While, again with the benefit of hindsight, this was all quite predictable.

You didn't, you had good years, but the good years are yet to come. You'll die just a few decades before ageing, every conceivable disease and injury are completely curable, so close yet so far. I pity you actually. I am in my mid forties, if I look after myself I may live long enough to live forever.

[jimjam]

I pity you actually

There is no need for that.

I may live long enough to live forever.

I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy . And...….try to imagine earth with a few trillion humans who don't care to die Death is nothing to fear. Strange to say that it is a good thing. It simply makes life complete.

every conceivable disease and injury are completely curable

Highly unlikely. For example lets take the emperor of all maladies, cancer. It has been known to "outsmart" a "cure" simply by mutating to a form that the "cure" cannot cure. Injuries? Even more improbable. Consider being blown into thousands of pieces by an explosion.

[SolarCross]

There is no need for that.

Not you personally, everyone of your generation.

I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy . And...….try to imagine earth with a few trillion humans who don't care to die Death is nothing to fear. Strange to say that it is a good thing. It simply makes life complete.

It is certainly possible to resign yourself to death, but the millennials won't have to. In a way your generation have it the worst. Pre-modern people were as doomed to die as you but they didn't really think of death as the end, just a passing on to another world, death was inevitable but not an existential crisis. Post-modern people don't believe there is a hereafter just like you but won't have to die so it is moot. You have the worst of both worlds because you will die and really believe it is death.

Highly unlikely. For example lets take the emperor of all maladies. It has been known to "outsmart" a "cure" simply by mutating to a form that the "cure" cannot cure. Injuries? Even more improbable. Consider being blown into thousands of pieces by an explosion.

True immortality is of course impossible, but a thousand year span of life is totally feasible. The human body is a fiendishly complex machine but like any machine can be kept running perfectly indefinitely with the right repairs and maintenance. It's a technological problem and by any reasonable estimate, one that will be solved within a few decades.

[Rugoz]

a) Where does this weird obsession with manufacturing jobs come from . I'm glad I can sit in my comfy office and teach my computer what to do.
b) The only continent whose population is still growing rapidly is Africa.

[Zagadka]

a) Where does this weird obsession with manufacturing jobs come from :eh:. I'm glad I can sit in my comfy office and teach my computer what to do.

I can imagine the drawbacks of a full service economy and lack of manufacture/industry sectors... being reliant on other countries for production makes you vulnerable to deficits and foreign control. Trump takes that a bit too far, though. Really, we should be focusing on moving to vocational training.

[SolarCross]

I can imagine the drawbacks of a full service economy and lack of manufacture/industry sectors... being reliant on other countries for production makes you vulnerable to deficits and foreign control. Trump takes that a bit too far, though. Really, we should be focusing on moving to vocational training.

There have to be jobs for those at the end of the training or else all you have done is just create a bunch of highly qualified welfare bums. If there are jobs the employers will take care of the training.

[Rugoz]

I can imagine the drawbacks of a full service economy and lack of manufacture/industry sectors... being reliant on other countries for production makes you vulnerable to deficits and foreign control. Trump takes that a bit too far, though. Really, we should be focusing on moving to vocational training.

As jimjam already mentioned, trade is not the main cause. In fact China is experiencing a decrease in manufacturing jobs as well, as a share of total employment. It means they're getting more efficient.

[One Degree]

Wishing for personal immortality is to wish for a stagnant humanity.
Jobs should not be eliminated because we can. They should only be eliminated if the people don’t need to do them. Idleness is not conducive to good mental health or preservation of a safe society.

[Beren]

If you want to be immortal you have to be born immortal, like gods. Also, what would people do for a thousand years? Playing video games? The whole world would be a complete dystopia like Japan tends to be where people live the longest, have poor sex lives and take care of machine pets.

[SolarCross]

Wishing for personal immortality is to wish for a stagnant humanity.
Jobs should not be eliminated because we can. They should only be eliminated if the people don’t need to do them. Idleness is not conducive to good mental health or preservation of a safe society.

This is simply the most tragic lack of imagination.

1. Personal immortality means having the time to explore more variety and deeper and richer experiences. It will mean less stagnation and more wisdom. Those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it, which is not a problem immortals are likely to have.
2. Many jobs are simply dreary beyond words however desirable or necessary the outputs. Replacing them is a mercy.
3. Idleness is great, if only as a rest between new adventures. People don't need to be put to work to remain stable and happy, because there are infinite ways to amuse oneself without working.

[Beren]

Oh, and the Japan scenario is still not the worst, it's just extremely boring and miserable so much that we all would wish to die I guess.

[One Degree]

This is simply the most tragic lack of imagination.

1. Personal immortality means having the time to explore more variety and deeper and richer experiences. It will mean less stagnation and more wisdom. Those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it, which is not a problem immortals are likely to have.
2. Many jobs are simply dreary beyond words however desirable or necessary the outputs. Replacing them is a mercy.
3. Idleness is great, if only as a rest between new adventures. People don't need to be put to work to remain stable and happy, because there are infinite ways to amuse oneself without working.

Having been free to be idle the last ten years to pursue my amusements as long as I wanted resulted in disillusionment with those amusements. We crave new experiences and without required work and monetary limitations, we turn to more decadent and depraved amusements as we exhaust the current ones.
Your enjoyment of for example video games comes from the restricted time you have to dedicate to them. What you now enjoy for a year can be burned out in days by those with leisure and wealth.
Undoubtedly a few can handle this. Most can’t. The decadence of the rich and famous should make this clear. At least seeing 60 year old socialites deformed by plastic surgery and deranged by extreme ideologies should give us a clue what wealth and idleness really means for most of us. Enjoy your struggles and time limitations. Be glad work demands a reasonable amount of your time.

Edit: Actually just look at where our increased wealth and leisure has brought us. Divided and outraged by silly shit. We are bored.