Author: Curt Doolittle

WHAT MONUMENTS COULD MODERNS BUILD?
cc: @robinhanson
All,
Hanson’s point is that to compare with ancient and medieval world investments, monuments must reflect a substantial investment in GDP. And, other than the space program, which cost something like one percent of just the budget, there are no longer monumental investments of that nature.

Now, I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, the changes in incentives between then and now, but I haven’t mentioned that such investments are almost always architectural in some nature, since ‘all art begins with architecture’.

So, are there any architectural investments capable of monumental expression that can consume, say, like cathedrals, twenty percent of GDP, and for sometimes, a century or more.

Well, there are two possible conclusions from answering this question.
1) We would need to build what is effectively a monumental city.
2) We could build what is effectively a monumental COMMONS – everywhere.

With a current GDP of 25 Trillion, devotion of say, we currently have a 4+ Trillion dollar budget. Now, to reach the same levels of investment, we’d need an additional five trillion per year on the construction of new monumental architecture employing vast numbers of people, on Monumental Cities and Tows, and, as did Napoleon, by converting the decrepitude of Paris into an urban heaven we still visit today with envy and joy – despite that democratic governments have done little to maintain and preserve it – produce our own pride, unity, and joy.

There are achievements. We excel at them. They are our monuments today. But, perhaps, we should seek achievements in monumental construction instead of monumental consumption. 😉

Affections
CD

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