Two recent examples from Finland, just numbers, you decide if it’s a little or a lot.

When phase 1 of the “Länsimetro” subway extension from Helsinki city center to adjascent area and to the nearby suburbs was completed in 2018, it had cost 1188M€ for a 13.5 km route in challenging terrain, and 8 stations. To the best I could find, phase 2 completed in 2023 with 7.5km more route and 5 more stations, and cost 1070M€. This includes the infrastructure, not the vehicles.

The Tampere tram system (started from scratch) opened in 2021. Phase 1 route length was 15 km and 23 pairs of stops, as well as 10 new bridges and such, and cost 274M€+82M€ for the vehicles. Phase 2 is 95% done and 92% paid for, and currently the 7km, 9 stop(pairs) project is estimated to come to a total of 100M€+39M€ for the vehicles.

https://www.lansimetro.fi/kustannukset/ https://yle.fi/a/3-8727469 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Länsimetro https://www.tampereenratikka.fi/tampereen-ratikka/ratikan-kustannukset/

We built our own civilization! With blackjack and hookers! And world class (or well above world class, since average world class tends to suck) cycling infrastructure!

It’s not even limited to the US. In Finland it’s called “pilluralli”, “pussy-rally”, and the general associations are of 18-19-year-olds of lower socioeconomical class.

It comes down to how you define “soul”.

Do I believe there’s a consciousness that transcends death or exists separately from our physical existence, no.

But if you start talking of ship of Theseus/transponder incident/mind upload -type mental exercises, then yes, I believe “self” is an evolving pattern and a collection of experiences that could theoretically be replicated in another physical manifestation or even in a completely different medium. You could call that, too, “soul”.