The world was not infinite, and yet a population could aspire to become so; it could (and would) expand well beyond its own limits of sustainability, and would continue to do so until it collapsed. There was, he said, nothing so deadly as success.
The second in what will doubtless turn out to be a series of significant forms of social commentary. Not so much on any society in particular, but on the nature of societies as a whole. It's fairly evident that none of the races in this universe have moved into a post-scarcity mindset.
