>I have to side with Carrol on this one. I think this "rah, rah,
>longevity" business gets you nowhere. One of the things I like
>about _Brave New World_ is how neatly Huxley balances the
>nightmarishness of primitive society with that of technological
>society; both modes of living are equally awful but in different
>ways. My own view of the fruits of capitalist scientific
>achievement is that they have made possible lives that are nasty,
>brutish ... and long.
C'mon, is your life miserable? Mine isn't, and I'm sure most of the people on this list wouldn't characterize their lives as miserable. Disappointing in spots, for sure, and not free of sadness, but nasty & brutish? - hard to believe.
Doug