Could not agree less
Mining and extraction from the earth is very laborious, produces necessary petroleum and minerals and has been done since ancient times
The three traditional essential economic activities are-
An intellectual or technological creation
Much of today's intellectual activity is useless. All those highfalutin educational degrees for k-12 teachers.... We are top heavy with non-productive credentialed classes. No one needs so many lawyers or Government planners. Laser and GPS guided tractors....that comes from productive intellectual activity
Agreed. But they are non-renewable activities, unlike agriculture. We are "eating into our capital" or "mining" our resources. (Hey, that's why we call it "mining". :-)