What types of innovation create human flourishing?
I’ve been pondering this question a bit lately as a prompt for where it’s worth focusing time and attention. I do mean flourishing here in the broadest, most sincere sense, although noting that it is tough to truly flourish if you don’t have access to shelter or clean water.
A comment a good friend of mine made a long time ago was about the impact of energy production on human productivity and thriving. Through a certain lens, more efficient and cleaner sources of energy are the only things that matter. This is why people get so excited about fusion.
I think a similar exercise can be done for public health interventions. Access to clean water, for instance, seems like basically a sure bet for adding healthy, productive years to people’s lives.
So here is my hypothesis list, written not with the assumption that is it is all correct, but so that I can refine it over time.
- Energy sources: Cleaner, cheaper, more abundant energy
- Agriculture: improvements in productivity or efficiency
- Public health interventions: including things like clean water and disease prevention
- Education: both access and improvements in quality
- Land use: More optimal allocation
- Transportation: Faster, more efficient transportation
- Faster, more effective communication
- Expansion of political freedom
- Access to credit (probably?)
I’m almost definitely missing something and will refine this over time.
2023-08-10