evilgenius wrote: There is also something coming with money that looks pretty scary, if you are a private person. Soon, the maxim "cash is king" may no longer hold, as there may no longer be any cash around to use when plastic won't do. These things could spell doom, or not. They could be answers to problems man has faced for centuries. Just as well, in the wrong hands, they could harm people in ways we've never seen before.
Yes, the world changes. Why should we always believe that THIS time, that spells doom? As you say, various aspects could go either way. The idea that we keep muddling along, but with things different, as always, seems far more likely, given humanity's track record re new technology.
Why is it that THIS time the "scary" re money is so different than what pessimists have been regaling us with since at least the 60's? Really nasty recessions were a "thing" in the 1800's, so it's not like recessions are new, for example.
There's nothing intrinsically valuable about cash money. Paper money has ALWAYS been inflated away over time. It's all about faith. What is the magical event that will prevent plastic money from working? What's the magical event that will prevent gold and silver and gems from working?
Your summary that things could get better or worse seems to sum up the way things have ALWAYS looked, since, say 1300 (based on what I know about world history).
And for one specific example re technology in your previous post:
In the news, serious folks in the automated vehicle area (i.e. NOT ELon Musk) are routinely pushing their time frames for true FSD (full self driving) way back. They acknowledge that the problems associated with reliable FSD are much more difficult than they realized. And when it arrives, if it takes an extra decade or two to be fully built out, so what?
The "threat" of FSD is just one example of advancing technology and jobs that societies around the world are going to have to decide how to deal with. There are a variety of alternatives. The big "problem" is much more likely to be a big fight over how resources are distributed than that devices able to do a hell of a lot of work for us and make us safer is a road to doom. And re fighting over the distribution of resources -- same as it EVER was.
Given the track record of the perma-doomer blogs, I wouldn't bet a fast crash doomer's money on their predictions.