Agreed...I distrust globalisation completely.
Keating said while he was PM that Australia 'needed' a population of 55 million people to 'support' the economy...or words to that effect.
Politicians and economists have it completely ass backwards in my view. Is the population there to support the economy or is the economy supposed to support the population?
Australia, as a landmass, cannot support a 55 million population...it just doesn't have sufficiently ariable land.
So how do politicians and economists define an economy and a population?
I have come to believe that they (shareholders, economists, CEOs, Multinational corporations, futures traders etc) see themselves as 'the economy' and we, the population, exist to support them. This can only happen in an ever expanding economy where 'they' convince us constantly that we 'need' ever increasing amounts of 'consumer items'.
This is why we have 'design obselescence' (sp) in almost everything we buy. Remember when things were refered to as 'consumer durables'? These days its an oxymoron. What is so wrong with a mobile phone, car, toaster, stereo, airconditioner, fridge, TV etc that will last 10 years instead of 2 to 5?
Answer?
It is not good for 'the economy'.
Why do things cost LOTS more to repair than replace?
Because its good for 'the economy'.
Why should Australia be importing food?
Because its good for 'the economy'.
Why is every city around the world, and the surrounding suburbs and towns lite up all night long?
Because it is good for 'the economy'.
**** me you should see India from the cockpit of a 767 at 0200LT...it is a near constant sea of lights from coast to coast..Pakistan the same from border to border...all of Europe from the western border of Afghanistan to the west coast of UK. Afghanistan is a huge black hole, apart from Kabul which looks like Roma from the air at night, you would be LITERALLY hard pressed to count 4 individual lights between the Pakistani border and the Uzbekistan border.
Imagine the energy savings if every city in the world turned off 70% of the lights between local midnight and dawn?
I drive a 95 model LWB diesel Pajero. The reason I like it is because it has NO COMPUTERS to crap out when it's 5 years old...it still runs beautifully and is in fantastic condition overall and any half decent Malay mechanic can fix it very cheaply. Lucky if a full service costs AUD$70.00.
I point blank refuse to buy a new car (or any car run by computers with colour coded 'no go' areas under the bonnet) for that reason alone...once you buy one you end up in a constant cycle of trading in for new every 5 years...my sister and her hubby (DINKS) do that...buy new and trade 10 seconds before the warranty expires, and the fecking thing becomes REALLY expensive to keep running, for another new car.
Cut down on even 30% of the waste and we would never be having a discussion on Peak Oil...and despite the waste GW is a crock of ****e...amazingly
