You've triggered a thought wandering in the back of my mind for some time. Economy may have evolved from self-subsidence to barter to specialized production of real products unneeded by the producer, to wider production and trade powered by innovation in energy sources and production methods, finally in the case of the USA into a "postproduction" economy centered on consumption and services. But perhaps now a further fatal evolutionary turn has occurred into production, service, and consumption of pure financial products based solely in debt and not in any real asset value. Thus, the initial crunch in 2008-2009 as most of the assets behind widespread trading of debt, home mortgages, was finally recognized as specious. Now, after bail-out via more government-based socialization of the debt, financial services and products are even more specious and disconnectd from any real value than before. Will this not lead to an assured extinction of that economy?
You've triggered a thought wandering in the back of my mind for some time. Economy may have evolved from self-subsidence to barter to specialized production of real products unneeded by the producer, to wider production and trade powered by innovation in energy sources and production methods, finally in the case of the USA into a "postproduction" economy centered on consumption and services. But perhaps now a further fatal evolutionary turn has occurred into production, service, and consumption of pure financial products based solely in debt and not in any real asset value. Thus, the initial crunch in 2008-2009 as most of the assets behind widespread trading of debt, home mortgages, was finally recognized as specious. Now, after bail-out via more government-based socialization of the debt, financial services and products are even more specious and disconnectd from any real value than before. Will this not lead to an assured extinction of that economy?