Faustian Economics

Although a good, solid article, I found this a bit ironic. Berry is trying to set limits on the limitless thinking and learning that our society has focused on throughout history. He says that there seems to be an obvious emphasis on using newer and better methods and technology to constantly keep improving every aspect of our lives. It is a never-ending cycle, and I think it is silly that Berry tries to peg it and define it in this article. Yet I suppose if everyone followed that mindset, there would be no work at all, would there? It takes all of the contents of a certain time period to propel itself forward into a "new era." As I see it, it is interesting to talk about this perpetual future, but taking it too seriously may result in a loss for what our current generation really stands for.

Berry used many examples from other literary works throughout his article. By using these works, he can pinpoint the universal values that have sustained over the years. For instance, limits are addressed in many of his examples. Faustus sells his soul to the devil in return for limitless knowledge, which shows the same modern idea of losing your current self in favor of a big picture you might not understand. Like I said in the last paragraph, Faustus here is forgetting that to end up with a tall ladder to climb to your final destination, you must not forget to build the individual rungs that will lead you up.

I particularly enjoyed Berry's ideas on natural resources near the end of the article. He is a realist when it comes to these theories, he is taking real action to formulate a real plan. I like that he understands that we only have once chance on this Earth, we cannot get a redo if we use all of our natural resources or pollute our land and water. His solution to this problem of no second-chances is to use our obsession, technology and ever-growing knowledge, to take matters into our own hands. By focusing the thing that defines our country so well, we can make our own living space into somewhere we can be proud to pass to future generations.