Kurzweil would probably respond that nanobots and the singularity will fix everything.
Advantage: they self-replicate royalty free, something the nanobot company would never allow.
Such restrictions, or similar, might be a good idea in general. A gray-goo excursion would not be fun. Algae blooms cause enough damage as it is, and at least there are things that eat algae.
A lot of people aren't willing to stand up for what's right and good and feel that attacking you is an appropriate response when you criticize their feudal overlords. It's really depressing and disheartening.
Am I misunderstanding you?
Harvesting a tiny fraction of the total solar energy available (on Earth) would look an awful lot like a miracle.
Look up Ilya Prigogine, self-organizing systems, and dissipative systems.
Humans and their societies (and other artifacts) are one such.