The Potato Famine and the Pandemic

At the time of the famine, ireland was as densely populated as it was able to be. The rents placed on irish tenants by the english landlords were so high that everything had to go perfectly for tenants to avoid defaulting and being kicked off the land. In our own time, we have the ongoing disruption caused by the pandemic, the war in ukraine, inflation, political turmoil and technological disruption. And each crisis makes every other crisis harder to deal with. Maybe while we still have time, we should consider turning the efficiency knob down just a little bit.