If there was one person in history that I’d go back and put an end to with my time machine, it wouldn’t be Hitler, or Marx. It would be Rousseau, who was the originator of collectivist totalitarianism.
Jimmy Buffett’s passing made me think of him. He was a major influence, and they used to play together in bars in St. Augustine. I first encountered him live at The Ark in Ann Arbor in the late seventies. It still saddens me to think what a talent was lost when he tried to save a man on a beach south of St. Augustine in 1991 (I’ve driven through there, and they’ve named the beach after him).
Here is more. I hadn’t realized that he also influenced David Bromberg.
They also need affordable reliable electricity, and to be as ubiquitous as gas stations, if electric cars are ever going to be a serious thing. I know a lot of people with Teslas, but they admit that they’re not for road trips.