I am only talking about Australia here…
We are a very self-sufficient country, and currently one of the wealthiest. We have more productive farmland per capita than any other large nation.
Industries come and go. Shell, the oil company, started out selling shells. Aside from the Melbourne Cup, women used to spend a lot on hats. And pantyhose.
We are in an era where all the basics (food, water, shelter) are easily covered by a fraction of the workforce. Even if climate change ends up way worse than expected, we will survive. It might not be comfortable, but nobody will starve (in Australia).
Most of us do work that is not needed. And we keep coming up with new products and industries to keep us busy and buying things. Some of the biggest companies in the world are successful because what they provide is not needed.
- We don’t need one-day delivery from Amazon
- We don’t need $2000 phones from Apple
- Plumbers used to get work just fine without paying $40 per ad click to Google
- And don’t get me started about one of the fastest growing companies in the world – LVMH. Luxury goods are literally things we do not need
So we can get rid of bad industries, slowly and carefully, without consequence. Something new will take its place. Maybe perms will be back in fashion. Or hats. Or we could start making cars again. And nobody will starve.
Keeping an a bad industry going because of “jobs” appeals to the heart, and can keep things safe and steady in the short term. Ditching a bad industry has no long-term negative consequences, except to the political party that gets voted out (which ultimately is the real problem).
We should get rid of:
- coal mining
- old-growth forest logging
- horse and dog racing
- poker machines
Doing so will improve society and the planet, either actually or by example. The short-term costs and politics should not matter.