Trapped in an Obsolete Economy

Many politicians defend obsolete industries with the excuse to save jobs, or even worse, national pride. They protect businesses, by providing detrimental subsidies that ensure products will stay in the market, helping certain companies remain afloat. Most of us already know about the lobbyist system, that reigns over the “democracy” of the United States, and many countries around the world.

We know that greed for money and power are likely to be the driving force, behind all corruption, and most global problems we face today. Regardless of the industry, we can always “follow the money”, to see why there has been so much stagnation in our society over the past hundred years.

With the knowledge and technology available to us today, we can manifest immense progress in terms of productivity, health, and standards of living. Unfortunately, we are stuck with systems that are inefficient and obsolete. Of course, we have made improvements in these areas, and statistic clearly show positive results. Nevertheless, we could be further ahead, if progressive movements didn’t find so much resistance from corrupt politicians.

Historical data shows that in the 1500s, an approximate 65% of the labor force in developed countries was working in the field of agriculture. That number today is around 3%. We also know output per unit of labor has been increasing at a steady rate over the past 100 years. (1) These improvements are based on continued advancement in technology and agricultural methods.

Simultaneously, poverty and hunger rates have dropped significantly. This is something to celebrate, but we must read between the lines. There may be less Americans starving on the streets, but what are they eating instead? Hotdogs and BigMacs? There might be fewer people living in the streets, but how many jobs do they need to pay their rent? How much are they spending on garbage they don’t need, while maxing out their credit card limits?

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