Modern living is necessary for the survival of our species. Otherwise we'll suffer a catastrophic event and die. Therefore it is objecyively better to be working and living at our means pushing those limits of capital.
It seems unlikely that humans will be able to colonize other planets any time soon which would help preserve the human race after an extinction level event -- it will take some impending catastrophe to make that happen, and it's not clear that even then world governments could work together to make it happen.
If Europeans hadn't settled North America, is there reason to think the American Indians would be extinct today?
> It seems unlikely that humans will be able to colonize other planets any time soon
Human activity in space is increasing very rapidly, after recovering from the slowdowns at the end of the space race and the Cold War [1].
What makes you think this trend won't continue? Especially given the ongoing technological advancements and cost savings we are seeing from companies like SpaceX?
Agreed. Right now it looks like we may attempt a Mars Colony in my lifetime and by 2100 I wouldn't be surprised if there were dozens of Martian colonies.
To survive a catastrophic event you want to diversify your risk. Pushing the limit capital implies moving to a big city which makes it far easier for nuclear weapons to wipe out the majority of humans all at once.
Having self sustaining tribes far away from population centers is a very effective way to mitigate the death of our entire species in an all out nuclear war.
