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Ask HN: What's the minimum needed tech to sustain modern civilization?

Hacker News - Sun, 05/17/2026 - 6:02am

I think this is a good systems design problem for HN to nerd out on.

There was a recent discussion about how the world is overly complicated. If we could keep it simple from the very beginning, how would we do it?

The goal: A civilization of humans living in harmony with fellow life forms. "Looking at the birds, feeling the wind". And since this is all we do, it's safe to assume that greed and crime no longer exist. No organized religion, discrimination, borders. No personal computers/phones. No money, no ownership.

To live reasonably, we do need healthcare, shelter, clean water, food, clothing, basic transport. We also need monitoring and warning systems for impending natural disasters. Perhaps we can get rid of all of spaceflight work and replace it with long range electric drones and weather balloons? I'm not sure.

All of this still requires plenty of "industry" - pharmaceuticals, agriculture, mining etc. How could such a system realistically work?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48167495

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