Monday, September 18, 2006

Thoughts of bearing many children: the new Spanish fly

Student: If our economic growth is going to be largely determined by labour force growth, isn’t one solution just for us to all have a lot of kids?
Professor: Yes, [Bryan], that’s right. And you know what? That’s a great line at the bar. ‘Cause now you have another reason – "For the country."

-- Ivey

15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cheers to Ivey! The best (and most employable) faculty on campus! Who's your daddy, Western?

:-D

4:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Should the prof really being encouraging Western students to procreate? I mean, do we really need anymore mindless people running around?

7:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, mindless people like 4:25? :) I'm pretty sure finding a cure for cancer is more useful/more employable than perpetuating commercialism and working for "the man".

12:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You mean "The Man" who donates money to fund your cancer research? You're welcome, asshat.

PS I can almost guarantee that 90% of the grads Ivey is putting out are more employable than you with your dime-a-dozen science or pre-med degree.

3:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hahaha! 3:59 just OWNED 12:02!

4:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

^ Hahaha! 4:10 is a moron!

9:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ivey-u Ackbar!!!

11:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ivey-u Ackbar? PBUH! (The P is for profit.)

/wooo homonymns!

12:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just because people are communist doesn't mean they're brain-dead. Capitalism supports immorality and is unsustainable in the long-term.

8:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I go to Ivey.

One day, every other person in this thread will work for me.

9:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

8:33pm: Human nature supports immorality, and the human race is still tickin' along just fine. Blaming capitalism for the evils of the world only gets you so far. Look at the atrocities committed under the rule of dictators!

Stay away from the hippies, kiddo. They're filling your brain with nonsense.

11:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Human nature does support immorality. That's why governments need to make laws that restrict our freedoms, so that legally we do not have the freedom to kill and rape each other. Governments should also restrict the freedoms of companies, so that they do not have the freedom to crush other organizations and rape the environment.

The human race is not currently in danger of extinction, if that's what you call "tickin' along just fine". But we support the destruction of our natural resources and the mistreatment of our brothers in exchange for things that we don't really need.

In the capitalist system, people invest money into companies expecting to get more money back later on. This requires continuous growth. Please explain to me how such growth can be everlastingly sustainable.

9:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

a) You've totally mischaracterized the argument. I was just trying to say that it's an oversimplification to say that corporations are immoral, when corporations are directed by humans. Humans are the immoral ones, and that's true with or without corporations. If you want to make an argument to the contrary, then just rename yourself Robespierre and start up a revolution. We know how well that turned out last time.

b) Not every company is going to grow at high rates indefinitely - that's why investing in stocks is risky. However, in case you've been living under a rock your whole life, it might be instructive to point out that the economy grows every year as a funtion of labour force and productivity. As long as human beings are (a) procreating, and (b) coming up with innovative ways to add value and productivity to society and are left free to do so, economies will continue to grow. And that growth is sustainable.

c) You're clearly a die-hard hippie and are going to remain unconvinced by any of this. If you have any further questions on this subject, I suggest that you read a book by someone other than Noam Chomsky.

2:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Leave the hippies alone! Christ! We need more hippies in the world..

10:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"In the capitalist system, people invest money into companies expecting to get more money back later on. This requires continuous growth. Please explain to me how such growth can be everlastingly sustainable."

Please, for the love of God, pick up an economics textbook. Market economies have proven far more viable in the last century than any other system. "Investing money" is trading off some consumption to invest in capital (e.g. machinery, software) that increases output. This increased output is why your standard of living is better than your grandfather's, wanker.

10:56 PM  

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