> [Original Message] > From: Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx> > To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: 10/20/2005 3:07:49 PM > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Bob Dylan - A Poet? > > Andy: For Eric: why do you think the pre-oil days were so > peaceful or whatver > nice adjective you'd like to use? > > You misunderstand me. I wrote that the end of an oil-based > economy could mean that this is the peak of multiculturalism and > globalism. > > However, you picked up on my remark that people living in a more > homogeneous society would be happier for it. If you consult the > Lit-ideas archives, you'll find a study posted that indicates the > more diverse the society, the more unhappy its citizens. This is > natural too. Major upheavals of culture usually make for unhappy > people. It's not a bigotry point. It's a human nature point. > > The end of oil means the end of globe-hopping. Cultures will > become more settled. People will be subjected to less cultural > stress. There may be lots of other problems (caused by the > transition to a new economy) but that particular stress (females > wearing burqas in French schools for example) will be abated > somewhat. > Putting an ocean between countries hasn't stopped invasion; the Spanish Armada invaded England, English pirates terrorized the seas in Elizabeth I's time. Before them there were Vikings and other barbarians who traveled huge distances conquering or marauding. Likewise the huge distances between England, France, Belgium and their colonies. Napoleon, slavery, the American Revolution and so on. I tend to think scarcer resources don't make for happy campers, so war might be more of a problem rather than less. While I'm not a big fan of multiculturalism per se, by the second or third generation, most people are pretty assimilated. I suspect we'll be about as happy as they were in the 19th century. Isolation tends to breed dysfunction, case in point, the sects in Utah who believe in plural marriage of basically children are very isolated. Regarding the UN, I think an organization such as the UN is the way to reduce problems. Not starting wars on trumped up charges is a step in the right direction too. The UN isn't a government. It's just a place where countries hash out problems. The U.S. is the one who behaved arrogantly and did what it wanted in opposition to the UN, as a result boosting Islamist jihad way up. > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html