So, for the poor/jobless. Here's a plan.

Socialism has two parts, the redistribution of wealth, and the comraderie of the citizens.

Since we can't hope to achieve the first, we must focus on the second.

Instead of spending all our energy on useless campaigns trying to change the unchangeable, spend it on helping each other out.

There's no use fighting the upper classes for what we want and need. They have so many tools for preventing that. However, comraderie between the downtrodden can make life a little less miserable, for those of us stuck at the bottom of the social ladder.

The same economists who tracked the economic growth over the past century have also made projections regarding future growth.

Sudden changes can of course alter the outcomes, but based on the trend it seems we will have at least 250 million new middle-class consumers in China and India in the next 50 years.

The current global economy is fueled by the consumption of about 500 million Westerners. The addition of so many millions to the middle-class can therefore be seen as an indicator of continued strong economic growth.

There are also signs of growth in Brazil, Venezuela and Russia.

It disturbs me that the mass media are so determined to paint a picture of economic gloom when this is so far from the reality.

Good economists don't measure success by the volatile indicator of land values. They look at GDP output (production/supply) and input (consumption/demand). And frankly given the 250 million new consumers on the way, if 5-25 million Americans start to do it tough, that will NOT seriously damage the global economy.

The next time you read sob-stories about people losing their homes, remember that only the well-off OWN homes to begin with. Yes, sad if they lose their home- but not a catastrophe. They have every option to RENT just like I do- and no-one feels sorry for me XP.

How Modernity is the Second Renaissance [Second Draft, fixed typos]

I'd like to take a moment to debunk the myth that the world is in a terrible state. Yes, there are problems. There are a lot of problems, many of which seem insoluble. However, on balance this is one of the greatest ages of human acheivement.

The CATO Institute, Encyclopedia Britannica, World Bank, and other sources confirm that since 1900 the world has seen the greatest increase in the standard of living in the history of humanity. One billion people have been lifted out of poverty.

Yes, there are wars, famines, and pollution. However each of those is no worse than the same that was occurring in 1900.

The British and other Empires routinely invaded places during the 1800s and no-one even blinked. War has always been with us, and modern weapons have not greatly increased the number of deaths involved.

Food production has become drastically more efficient, and more people are eating a more diverse diet than ever before. Shortages only occur because of the very rapid increase in human population. People wouldn't be having so many children unless they had faith that they could feed them.

Likewise, industrial production is far more efficient in the age of Electricity than it was in the age of Steam. Far less coal is needed to yield the same productivity. The only reason that the amount of pollution is rising, is because the population is growing so quickly.

As with the first Renaissance, the loosening of the grip of the Church has caused a rapid increase in scientific research, information sharing, and ideological development. The Internet has accellerated this trend.