This is a guide specifically for those who suffer from the affliction of self-hate. If you do not suffer from self-hate, then this guide is not for you. I once suffered from this terrible, debilitating affliction (somewhat snarkish), but after I came to realize a few simple points, I was able to free myself from the bonds of hatred that I had forced upon myself.
The setting is mid 1800's, somewhere in the American West. A man in a funny hat rides up with a stagecoach, with writing on the side: 'The Cure Machine'. You are skeptical, and rightly so, because everything that you are about to hear is most likely nonsense and drivel. But you find yourself compelled, like a three year old, watching advertisements for the newest barbie on the boob tube...
Hello folks, step right up. I have the elixir for all of your needs, here at 'The Cure Machine'. In order to demonstrate, first I will cure this man of all his ills. Sir, what ails you?
"Ahem, nothing..."
Everyone is afflicted by something, the man in the funny hat replies.
Dropping to knees, weeping, Oscar worthy performance... "I can't take it, I look at the mirror and I am filled with anger, I hate myself"
Well, I have a cure for that. The man brings out a pill of gigantic proportions, obviously impossible to swallow. If you are filled with self-hate, I have just the thing for you. The Cure Machine Cure Everything Pill &tm;. Let me explain how this works, on the pill are written three little statements:
- All spare capacity will be used, either now or in the future.
- The ultimate source of most of the worlds problems is population growth.
- Without energy concentration, there can be no wealth, or for that matter, life.
OK, I have shown you the horse pill, the snake oil, the magic elixir if you will. Now, I don't want you to swallow that pill just yet, but instead, using these postulates I will describe how to end all self-hate. Now, why do you hate yourself sir?
"There are people starving in third world countries, but I eat well, and I don't know what to do!"
The man grins his slimy snake-like smile at the people in the audience, preparing to sleaze his way into the mind of this poor soul. Don't you know, that the worldwide hunger problem has been solved?
"What?" replies the man.
Oh, yes, it has been. Given that fact that the numbers of calories per food per capita for the entire world has increase by nearly 20% in developed countries, and nearly 50% in non-developed countries in the last 50 years, the worldwide hunger problem from 50 years ago has been completely resolved!
"But that doesn't help us today, with the population increases that the world has seen!"
No, but it does illustrate a point. The tarred up black gums and few missing teeth and wild eyes of the Cure salesman frighten away a few children, as he smiles and stares at the audience preparing to deliver his equally disgusting monologue. It demonstrates that all spare capacity will be used. In this case, the spare food capacity that was created by increased food production resulted in increased population and that, in turn, increases hunger.
"But what about the fact that we eat so well because of multinational companies going in and taking over the land of the third world, then exporting the food to the wealthy nations, such as ours, at the expense of the peoples in that nation?" replies the man on his knees, who, no longer weeping, still is showing some eye redness.
Clearly irritated, the greasy fellow grits his teeth so hard that a pop can clearly be heard. His grin becomes heavily forced. Well, due to the increasing wealth status of people in our fine nation, there has been a marked increase in meat and animal product consumption, and that requires a huge amount of grain, the amount of which varies based on different estimates. As ethanol usage increases in our fine country, the amount imported will increase because grain cost will become prohibitive in the United States, therefore increasing third world hunger. This is how wealth works, as nations become more wealthy, the people of those nations consume more meat. Without this concentration of wealth, the consumption of meat, and the nature of your entire lifestyle might be threatened.
"So I should quit eating meat, could that help?" asks the man.
Absolutely not (even though the man running 'The Cure Machine' is a vegan). An increase in efficiency will only result in spare capacity! Once again, as I stated before, the food production of today resolves the food problems of 50 years ago, easily. If we increase food production or food efficiency, more food will be available, and population will increase. The fault in thinking is that humans have the ability and will to control global population. This is a misnomer, made obvious by looking at human history. Increasing food production or food availability and expecting population to stay the same or decrease is ignoring history.
"And I also own two cars, my wife wanted her own," says the man, "and that contributes to global warming."
The salesman, no longer smiling at all, looks at the man, annoyed. Don't you see, my friend, that if you decrease the amount of energy you use, the spare capacity that is created will only result in lower prices something that might actually increase the use of that product? Any increase in efficiency will result in spare capacity, and that will be used by someone else. And, this is supposed to be mid 1800's, I've got a horse drawn carriage, where in hell did you get a car? But I digress. Basically, increases in efficiency result in increased use of resources, and possibly population growth, and population growth is the problem.
"So I shouldn't have children?" asks the man.
The salesman raises a hand against the man, but calms himself before feeding him a fistful of knuckle sandwich. No, absolutely not. EDIT: I meant to say that self-haters should definitely have children. I believe this is lost in the structure of English here. Those who are unable to look at their lives critically will be unable to deal with the inevitable alterations to the supply ends of the equation. Currently, production increases are possible annually in food, energy, and many other aspects of human life. Do not think that this will always be so. Those who are self critical, but not self hating, will be best prepared to deal with a decrease in the 'quality of lifestyle'. Of course, that is a misnomer as well, as smaller communities and reduced production could actually result in more time to spend with your family and less time commuting. The resulting decrease in population will reduce all kinds of pollution. This is, hopefully, inevitable.
"So I've doomed my children to hunger?" asks the man, weeping again.
No sir, this was the inevitable course of any species upon the discovery of a large available energy source, especially if use of that energy source can be converted into food production. The human population will continue to grow and large portions of that population will sit at the precipice of hunger until we are unable to expand because either the environment doesn't allow it, or energy or food become scarce.
A lady in the back yells: "He's a doom & gloomer! Everyone knows that technological advances will save us all from any problems!"
The man looks around nervously. So does his horse.
The Aftermath:
After the stoning of the man, and his horse, the man who was filled with self-hate took the huge pill, with its obviously insane postulates, and took it home. He didn't understand the idea of energy concentration being necessary for life, but he didn't need to. He no longer hated himself, he just needed a reminder everyday that there was a reason for things being as they were.
With that, he took a bite of a big juicy steak, and hoped that energy scarcity might one day save the planet. He had to do his part.