Recession, if it comes, should not be regarded as entirely an unmixed curse. There are serious advantages to be gained by a stronger-than- usual period of moderation. This is not escapism. For six thousand years the entire world has been on a bird and dog struggle to reach the Moon - depicted in the famous Egyptian painting of bird-headed men sailing a winged boat to the great orbs in the sky ahead. Moreover this was merely the rational depiction of the intended journey, for the moon compelled direction throughout all the billion years in the history of life on Earth with the influence of the tides.
Instead of taking an uncontrolled hiatus as devolved between Egyptian dynasties, the world at present has the leadership and communications to understand what would be gained through such a period of rest, and how to winnow it away from the agony of struggle and belief that it is nothing but uncontrollable misery. Capitalism's marvelous success came at a price - that of unleashing species as information in economic currency and the untrammeled power of machines - and it revealed that aggression can make itself a part of any endeavor. A period of quiet would help resolve some of these complex issues.
This is similar to the way workmen take a break when they know they have not yet reached the point of such exhausting that they takes on an increasing risk of accident. That kind of planning is a part of every job definition involving risk and danger. Every labor union fights for the right to take that break. Certainly the intensity of world economic activity does involve danger.
In a planned hiatus it would be among the responsibilities taken on to determine the essential industries, business, and activities, and then deregulate, devolve or, if necessary, enforce shutdowns of industries that are of such intensely aggressive development that they are stretching rational justification in the present stage of development of civilization's progress.
As for the 'stage of civilization' it is appropriate to believe that the essentials of world development will endure many thousands of years - food, housing and other shelter, clothing, and moderated forms of education, transportation, and the mining of coal, oil and other minerals. The world would be devolving its industry with the intention that it shall provide good environments for children, perhaps for several generations, without the massively aggressive industrially driven consumer purchases and military's aggressive conglomeration of vast numbers of excessive weapons of mass destruction of which the United States already owns a vast number.
Certain events have already taken place in the right direction. Deregulation of airplanes, iron and steel, clothing and textiles, banking and the destruction of nerve gas stockpiles have already taken place.
The new participation by government in ownership in banking is a much needed step because of its very moderation. However, it does not address some of the most bloated kinds of development such as transportation. It's well known the transportation industry has a great deal of power in government today. This should be curtailed. Perhaps it would be a good step equivalent to that taken in banking and finance, if government insisted on taking a percent - say twelve percent (12%) - of fossil fuel industrial stocks. Why twelve? That pointed number is aimed at the atomic weight of carbon, which is (except for certain scarce isotopes) twelve. Don't let that technical detail derail the importance of showing at least some sign of positive conscious intention for human intervention in over development before collapse becomes unrestrained.
A hiatus, since the Apollo flights to the Moon and subsequence success was achieved, is not merely desirable. It is inevitable, and the present recessionary trend is its positive manifestation, its most logical form, and, if the panic is removed, a good idea the time of which came before anybody knew it was coming. The Chinese character for Crisis is composed of two other characters; Danger and Opportunity. The military's senseless habit of overcoming danger with blind faith and massive destructiveness was learned through thousands of years of primitive brutality in which soldiers were nothing more than expendable peasants that could be made angry and armed. That was part of the realm that named the marvelously successful Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and it came to a good thing. Perhaps it ended the time when the Pentagon is utterly blind to danger no matter what it costs.
As for the space projects, most now planned are well designed, but it can be announced that projects beyond earth's orbit, and perhaps the Moon and Mars, will be viewed with considerable jaundice. Those outer planets will not change in another hundred million years and no hurry is indicated. Projects toward them are frightfully expensive and very misleading to the public (some of which is hungry) waiting with bated breath for space aliens to be discovered so that the military can prove its existence and overkill capability was ever justified.
Far too much of military armaments and space exploration is still pseudo-justified at great cost to sensible leaderships resources which can find better use in human activities that do some earthly good for people.
Earth observation satellites would be given high priority - surveillance of weather, volcanic activity, flooding, storms, croplands, minerals, wildlife, pollution, temperature and other factors is already highly developed and should not be touched. It is relatively cheap for what it does, especially compared with idiotic manned flights to Mars. Even returning to the Moon is an extravagance, though it has been justified somewhat by the illusion that the Apollo success has been drifting into Myth and no longer commands the respect of the planet. However, the Apollo flights were successful in fact and they did change the Earth's concepts - even wild primitive concepts - a good deal. More change will occur with the second series. The next series of Moon flights is also good because it will include as great a variety of people as possible.
Volcano and earthquake prediction systems are also supremely good projects and should be continued. They are not costly.
But the world must bite the transportation dilemma head-on. Take a bite of the approaching hood ornaments. The present transportation system is NOT a sustainable economic factor.
The world population problem must also be addressed with more courage. Invite more people who don't have children to lend their understanding of what makes life happy that is not ever more children. Courageously address the solution in the public media, of limiting children. The conflict that will ensnare with certain religions like the Mormon church should be made enlightening. Address the possibility - simply make it known that it might be possible - of limiting ownership of motor vehicles. Just who, and how many, and where - all that needs to be gone over with a fine tooth global extensive media discussion for years before the really good solutions come to light.
Destruction of the world's wild species is something being imposed on this lonely planet without regard to the fact that it is almost instantaneous in the span of time in which wildlife have been, and will continue to be, important to the human species. Compare it with a million years: the massive, vast, overwhelming and monstrously violent slaughter of the world's wildlife began with the invention of firearms and machines like steam and internal combustion. It has gone unabated and insensate since then because the two entities being pitted against each other are MACHINES AS SPECIES, and the wildlife as wild species even if sentient beings, and they are purely helpless against the machines, powerless to fend against the destruction of their existence. Extinction is forever.
Already, human beings no longer resonate with each other in the spectra of hundreds of extinct species. Human beings almost cannot recognize life's resonance with each other at all. It has been narrowed to specific terms defined by machines such as radio, television, portable telephone, and permitted conversations in permitted languages. It is almost certain that human depression is a real consequence of the concrete, steel and machines; the regimentation and authority imposed on every and all kinds of activity; the rampant, endless slaughter of wildlife; the constant stream of death emerging as animals are murdered on the roads and highways; the bizarre theaters that supposedly define human consciousness; and other factors that would be truly absurd if they were not so fascist and destructive.
Recession, if it comes to extensive economic collapse, should be regarded as not entirely an unmixed curse. Much good will come of doing some planning as if it was caused by absolutely
vital factors that mankind is not at liberty to refuse.
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