zlacker

>>hugoda+(OP)
Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them. Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965

>>indian+WG
So why didn't this happen with electricity, water and food, but would with thinking capacity?

>>chii+ve1
What do you mean? This is very much true. We are economically compelled to buy food from supermarkets, for instance, because hunting and fishing have become regulated, niche activities. Compared to someone from the 1600s who could scoop a salmon out of the river with a bucket, we are quite oppressed.

>>midtak+ZZ1
On the flip side, fishing quotas are the reason there are some fish left. However you are free to grow your own vegetables.

>>kuerbe+k62
... provided you own land that the government allows for agricultural use. And most people can't afford to own enough land to be self-sufficient.

So you're not free to grow your own vegetables either; just like fishing, farming is regulated to manage limited resources. Things get ugly fast when you start raising pigs in your city apartment, or start polluting with pesticide runoff, or start diverting your neighbour's water supply...