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I wouldn't definitively say that creative destruction is a virtue. A lot of modern technology and (and the resulting products) from so-called advances makes life easier and more convenient, but better? No. Are we better off with mass-produced clothing from china? Are we better off with iphones and androids and who knows what else locked onto our hips, never letting us get away from work? Are we better off with the previously unimaginable access to fatty/tasty/sugar-filled/genetically-modified foodstuffs? It's better than starving at least. The human body is the ultimate tool and weapon, but modern "civilized" man has the luxury of letting it decay into a mound of useless fat.

Are we better off with constant, never-ending international transit and trade? Nope. Are we better off with TVs in every room? Nope. The march of human progress has trampled a lot of what was wholesome into the ground.

I like your post. Everything you’ve said makes sense.

What wrangles me is technology does not keep up the “old system” for back-ups in case of a major fail.

Did you hear about Arizon? They lost all i-net communcations because some a$$hole$ went out in the middle of the freakin’ desert with a backhoe in nowheresbille and cut the freaking cables.

It’s not widely publicized YET because the initial report was tryin to minimize the situation by calling the situation “vandalism”.

It could be a terrorist act.

Why has everyone ditched the most solid backups they could have = tell me why...

A sentimental attachment to old ways and things is fine but ought not to blind us against recognizing that the energies of modern capitalism have provided a quality of life that is far better today than when we were born.

For example, a few years ago, my life was saved by the removal of a pituitary tumor. This was accomplished by an operation that relied on medical advances and surgical techniques and tools that did not exist when I was born. I call not dying in middle age a big plus.

Also, We are communicating via PCs and the Internet, which are also of recent invention. And call me spoiled, but I like big, flat screen TVs, cable with hundreds of channels, and cheap clothing and other goods from China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and other venues.

Living in a small sized city in the South, within a mile I have the choice of shopping at two standard grocery chains, or at two health food groceries that did not even exist as businesses when I was in college. In any event, food quality and selection is better today than it was when I was a boy.

Moreover, the Cold War is over -- won by the side of freedom. That too is a great boon to the US and the world.