I agree with most of your points (I'm one of those well-fed not-ready-for-revolution types, despite being very much a self-confessed leftie) but:
> Justin Trudeau (not bad, but ultimately unfulfilling)
I don't follow Canada very closely, but isn't it a bit early to judge his record? (Totally agree on Obama btw, but that was coming from the day he announced Biden as his running mate...)
> There's enough wealth in this world for the entire planet to live prosperously
No there isn't, really. It's growing and we're trying to figure out ways to feed everyone and help everyone, but levelling down first-world disparities wouldn't free enough resources to really level up the third world. Consumption rates are just too high all across the board. We (well, some) are trying to figure out more efficient ways of producing and consuming (solar etc) but there's a long way ahead if we really want to take billions of people out of poverty.
We are producing ample food for everyone, it's just that we prefer to use most of it for other things because prefer luxury meats and ethanol to feeding everyone.
It's very similar to how we are shooting the next generation in the foot with coal and oil.
There's no tradeoff between "luxury meats" and feeding everyone. The appropriate signals will be perceived by the Big Food Machine and more will be made as soon as there is room on the shelves. Agricultural land goes out of production now, fast. Conservation easements offer the service of allowing people who have inherited family land to be able to abate taxes on it in exchange for taking it out of production.
Excellent points, both of them. I guess my thought process is Trudeau could be the most capable leader in the history of Canada, he can only do so much in charge of 30 million people of a 10th most powerful economy in the world. Canada can and is setting a good example, and I'm supremely happy to have my citizenship, but it won't be what makes or breaks the success of the rest of the world. Least of all our nearest neighbor who'll listen to China before us.
> Justin Trudeau (not bad, but ultimately unfulfilling)
I don't follow Canada very closely, but isn't it a bit early to judge his record? (Totally agree on Obama btw, but that was coming from the day he announced Biden as his running mate...)
> There's enough wealth in this world for the entire planet to live prosperously
No there isn't, really. It's growing and we're trying to figure out ways to feed everyone and help everyone, but levelling down first-world disparities wouldn't free enough resources to really level up the third world. Consumption rates are just too high all across the board. We (well, some) are trying to figure out more efficient ways of producing and consuming (solar etc) but there's a long way ahead if we really want to take billions of people out of poverty.