An interesting read, and certainly has valid points about how adding collective value is actually surprisingly easy if enough people think so, but I'm not convinced by the basic thesis. If you can characterise society so easily anyway, we didn't "grow out" of gin and "grow in" to libraries and liberal democracy - just listen to the periodic media complaints about binge drinking. Creativity has always grown out of spare time, and people have always had free time, just not necessarily in the same regular pattern. The pyramids were probably built mostly by farmers from the Nile who could no work during flood season, for example, and not by huge teams of slaves or flying saucers.
The TV producer friend, though, does seem characterised as particularly stupid, but her position doesn't ring entirely true.
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Date: June 4th, 2008 05:52 pm (UTC)From:The TV producer friend, though, does seem characterised as particularly stupid, but her position doesn't ring entirely true.