Alternative blindness

Robert: I can see exactly what you’re thinking …
Kate: Well, nature means a lot to me. And it’s regularly getting ruined by the roar of machinery.
Robert: A leaf rake would do the job as well. It would be better for the environment and for people’s nerves anyway, but nope – everything has to be efficient, convenient, and fast. Time is money!
Helen: That principle has pretty much seeped into every part of life. Instead of long-term planning, we let existing tech and economic considerations dictate how we act. Alternatives aren’t even on the table anymore.
Conrad: This reminds me of that old Chinese anecdote about a gardener. Someone offers him an efficient irrigation system so he doesn’t have to lug his watering cans around anymore. Do you know what he said?
Sophie: He probably didn’t want his contemplative work ruined by increased efficiency.
Conrad: Exactly! His stance was: anyone who builds ingenious machines is also an ingenious businessman. Such people are so caught up in their own cleverness that they don’t let any other insights in – which is why they follow their misguided paths rigorously.
Helen: And that’s why, a few thousand years later, we’re technically super-smart. But are we even remotely as wise? How are ideas about what makes a good life supposed to spread when everyone’s hypnotized by “progress”?
Fred: Maybe your romantic longings will eventually inspire the narrow-minded public.
Sophie: Is that a hint of irony I hear?