Dirt and Goo

     We humans endlessly seek to increase our satisfaction. 
In the beginning humans didn't seem to have much to work with. 
All that existed was natural resources and people.  Some of
those natural resources, such as berries and nuts, were nearly
ready for use to increase the satisfaction of humans.  Other than
air and water, most of the earth started out as little more than
dirt and goo.

     Plants and animals grew from that dirt and goo, with
some help from air and water.  They got a big boost from an
extraterrestrial natural resource -- sunlight.  Powered by sunlight,
plants turned dirt, goo, air and water into organic matter. 
Animals ate the plants.  The animals further transformed the dirt
and goo into meat and skins.

     Early humans lived mainly on the dirt and goo that plants
and animals transformed into things, such as food, which humans
found useful for increasing their satisfaction.  To use the
products of plants and animals required human action.  A berry
on a bush didn't satisfy hunger.  Neither did a rabbit running
wild.  Human effort made the products of nature useful for
producing human satisfaction.

     Ideas must precede action.  Except for reflex actions,
humans act only because they have ideas about acting and what
those actions might produce.  Of course, the ultimate goal is to
produce satisfaction.  Some of the first ideas were about using
plants and animals to increase satisfaction.  Pick berries.  Catch
rabbits.  Use sticks to help catch rabbits.

     Humans also had ideas about using those lumps of dirt
called stones.  Stones were useful for cracking nuts and throwing
at rabbits.

     Things that natural processes and human effort made
ready to use for increasing human satisfaction came to be called
consumer goods.  All consumer goods are the products of dirt,
goo, air, water and sunlight.  The only human contributions are
ideas and effort.  Ideas are the product of mental effort.

     Look about you.  Consider the consumer goods
surrounding you -- food, clothing, houses, microwaves,
televisions, vehicles, furniture, and endless other things.  All of
those things were made from dirt and goo.

     The dirt and goo are as old as the earth.  Human effort is
as old as the human race.  Why did it take so long to transform
the dirt and goo into all of the useful things we have today? 
The missing ingredient was ideas.  Humans had to discover how
to turn dirt and goo into a microwave.  First they had to discover
how to turn the dirt and goo into steel and plastic.  They also
had to discover how to use dirt and goo to make electric
generators.

     Increasing our standard of living depends on increasing
our ability to transform dirt and goo into consumer goods useful
for increasing our satisfaction.   We see no indication that the
human capacity to think and work is on the increase.  Our only
hope for advancement is increasing the fruits of the efforts of
which we are capable.

     To increase the fruits of our efforts we must have more
and better equipment, and use it more efficiently.  The industrial
revolution is about the efficient use of technology and equipment
to amplify the productivity of our efforts.  Among other things,
the increased productivity frees time to do other things. 
Increasing our productivity is the same as adding more hours to
our days.

     If we are to continue adding more hours to our days, we
must continue expanding our investment in technology and
equipment to amplify our ability to produce consumer goods.

     Unfortunately, tax and spend government is consuming
the wealth that we must invest in research and production if we
are to increase, or even sustain, our level of prosperity. 
Government is literally stealing hours from our days by limiting
our ability to turn dirt and goo into useful things.  If we continue
down this road we are on our way back to where we started, the
world of dirt and goo.

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Copyright 2012
Albert D. McCallum
18440 29-1/2 Mile Road
Springport, Michigan 49284