Dear Mr Durante:

The idyllic utopia you describe was tried -- in the USSR and to a lesser extent in China. For 60 and 30 years, respectively. You know the outcomes. The one deviation from your utopia is that work was compulsory, at wages set by the Powers that Be. For many millions, that wage was the meagerest of food, plus one set of summer and winter clothes of the shabbiest cut.



Dear Mr Shedd:

It is probably true that given current technology, the typical OECD lifestyle cannot be extended to the entire human race. Any attempt to do so will meet with disaster well before the change is complete. Many see this as a reason to dismiss our lifestyles. I prefer to see it as a challenge for human ingenuity. But one thing is certain: Mr Durante's suggestion is not a path forward.



Dear All:

I agree that over the next 100 years, the growth rate of the human population should fall below 0.2% p.a., and I would accept a value of 0. I also embrace nuclear, solar, and geothermal energy. I even advocate a minimum guaranteed income of $100/person/week, free of tax. Most important, we are going to have to learn to derive more satisfaction from creativity and human fellowship, and less from the purchase of items that wear out and go out of fashion. But the public sector is not an appropriate means to meeting these existential challenges.