Tyler Cowen writes,

Imagine that nanotechnology, or some other version of The Next Big Thing, came to pass. The bounty of nature would be replaced by the bounty of science. Might our economy look a bit more like the welfare policies of the Gulf states, albeit with greater diversification? Won’t we massively expand our welfare state?

This reminds me that I’ve been meaning to do a progress update on The Great Race. Maybe after Kurzweil’s latest book appears.