I read Factfulness and was quite inspired to learn that extreme poverty can be eliminated by 2100. This, of course, means allowing countries with extreme poverty (about 800 million people now) to develop. This is not a natural consequence destined to happen, but must be invested in deliberately. There are some very interesting facts around development:
Per-capita CO2 emissions are much higher in the US, Canada, and other countries with higher income levels. I hear a lot about how China and India are causing substantial pollution, but per-capita they are far under! India emits 1/10th the CO2 per person as the US! China is almost a third. The countries that have extreme poverty do not contribute as much. What is preventing the US and Canada in being leaders in reducing (via capture or whatever other means) CO2 emissions? It seems it could be a good economic opportunity for future generations.
In places where people are escaping extreme poverty, they store their excess money in bricks and build their houses incrementally. It is an interesting marker of the financial infrastructure to look at how long it takes to finish a wall or room.
By 2040 the economic center will have substantially shifted towards APAC, and 2060 Africa will be entering the global market in force. I do not think the west will simply stand by, though. I am excited to see how this unfolds and I’m incredibly excited to see economic development in APAC.
There is a lot to this data I need to understand better, but this was really inspiring to read. Poverty of all forms is slowly getting better, either through reduced severity or fewer people experiencing poverty. The real value of human potential isn’t in manual labor that can be automated away, but by our thinking. At the museum I went to, there was a single machine built in 1906 that could do the work of 30 fish butchers and prepare 60 fish per minute. It is such a critical skill today to be adaptable in our thoughts and learning, because that is what makes humans so special. If I am displaced from my job, I believe I have the skills to quickly adapt and learn a new craft. Automating too fast will make this more difficult to make the leap. Everything in balance.