Image of a lone person wielding a pen of ideas against the awful scythe of universal entropy and darkness (grappling with the epitome of evil and death).



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The way ahead

This page last updated on or about 4-13-11

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Future technological advances could allow humanity to finally realize its ultimate potential for good or evil.

If we do ultimately aspire (or fall) to such an end, which will we willingly choose?

Will the animalistic drives of our past-- predatory greed, aggression, and violence, automatic deference to the creed 'might makes right' (anarchy or 'natural law'), and instinctive fear of change-- all in the end overpower our dreams and hopes for a better world?

This site is about that choice. A choice we'll make as we traverse a gauntlet of challenges which may well have destroyed all those civilizations which preceded us on this path: all those who came before us in this galaxy.

Odds are we'll follow the same course to extinction they did. Unless we change. Change in ways many believe today to be impractical-- or even impossible. And maybe immoral, to boot.

For too stringent adherence to the status quo regarding tradition, nationalism, religion, et al, is what likely killed off those before us.

In this tug of war between our worst and best natures, our fears and our hopes, it'll often be tough to know who or what to believe, or what course of action will best serve our long term interests as a society.

And yet nothing could be more important to our survival.

Among other things, we may have to decide whom we love best: our families and friends? Some sort of deity and the various edicts attributed to it by mortals as fallible as anyone else among us? Or maybe a certain patch of dirt we walk on-- the country in which we were born, and its government, no matter what that government does in our name?

Many of our choices will come to this: family versus nationalism/patriotism versus religion. Love versus hate. Prosperity for all, versus unimaginable riches for a few.

Below are my own contributions to the many debates we'll hopefully have before deciding our course-- and our fate.

My own hope is that we reshape the world into a true meritocracy, where no one who's willing to positively contribute to society goes hungry or uneducated or without medical treatment. Where everyone enjoys at least some opportunity to pursue their dreams (so long as such dreams pose negligible risks to others). And where no one's potential-- especially that of little children-- is squandered on the battlefields of political extremism, military overreaching, or economic injustice.

Yes, that's some awfully idealistic goals. But it could be that our only real alternative is extinction, judging from the silence of the skies circa 2011.

And it may be we already possess sufficient levels of wealth and technology to achieve these things. But we can't do it by allowing just a few hundred families around the world to command roughly half or more of humanity's (and the Earth's) total assets. That's basically the same as us all ceding control of our personal fates to the population of some tiny rural town somewhere, that we've never even visited or heard of! And yet that's the state of world governance today. Does that make sense to anyone at all?

Apparent opportunities

Apparent threats

Civilization's best defenses against war, terrorism, technological stagnation, and economic ruin




Intellectual property reform in the 21st century




How to live well on very, very little: the best ideas for obtaining the essentials of modern human sustenance for minimal cost




What the rich do with their astonishing freedom from taxes
OR
Hints of the vast, presently untapped (and often largely wasted) resources available to humanity




An illustrated speculative timeline of future technology and social change

The nature of luck

What are your TRUE chances of getting rich in America?

They own you-- and all your property too

The rise and fall of star faring civilizations in our own galaxy

Ragnarok: The war for our destiny

The enormous hidden costs to society of 'right-wing' political governance

Risky behavior: Reductions in the overall diversity and redundancy of human civilization and its home planet which may raise the risk of extinction or collapse over the next few centuries

The astonishing decline of America

America's de facto domestic and foreign policies of artificial scarcity and institutionalized poverty

More references regarding the Bush Presidency as perhaps the worst ever in US history

The super-rich, the 'plain' rich, the 'poorest' rich...and everyone else

The crucible of the soul: True love, soul mates, marriage, relationships, friendships, inspiration, stress, job burnout, depression, suicide, and more

For those looking for lighter-hearted or more entertaining fare, I offer Kindle ebooks ranging in nature from autobiographical (regarding a supercar I built and drove in my youth), to outright science fiction regarding our possible future. You can find them here.

Copyright © 2005-2015 by J.R. Mooneyham. All rights reserved.


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