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So my point stands. The working people are supporting the hobbyists. Even if you are not working, someone is producing your food and your clothes and shelter. T

So my point stands. The working people are supporting the hobbyists. Even if you are not working, someone is producing your food and your clothes and shelter. That stuff does not become "free" merely because "robots made work redundant" or "everyone gets free UBI" or some other nonsense. In any society, some people carry the water while others drink it. The idea of UBI is that someone should be able to practice a hobby while others labor to feed him and clothe him. This is a fringe notion that those who work find repugnant. Currently rich societies support many people who drink the water while carrying none. But the social contract is that they get state support because they are elderly or infirm or disabled or simply down on their luck. There is no widespread support for the idea that people are entitled to carry no water and, moreover, to live a leisurely life of hobby, merely because they were lucky enough to be born in a rich country.

billmalarky 10y ago
You keep referencing human labor, so you aren't getting it. There won't be a meaningful number of people working in the future because humans will add less value to the market than automation. I won't try to predict when the human unemployment "tipping point" occurs, but it will occur. What is your proposed solution for when the market economy collapses due to demand side economics ceasing to exist?
- massysett 10y ago
  History is full of people making ridiculous claims like this. Years ago no one would have imagined that anyone would work in a society like ours, where extraordinary efficient agriculture means everyone can eat. But people still work, because things like better healthcare and iPhones have a cost. Human wants will expand to fill humankind's greater productive output, just as it has in the past. So I do "get it." I just think you're wrong.

billmalarky 10y ago

You keep referencing human labor, so you aren't getting it. There won't be a meaningful number of people working in the future because humans will add less value to the market than automation. I won't try to predict when the human unemployment "tipping point" occurs, but it will occur. What is your proposed solution for when the market economy collapses due to demand side economics ceasing to exist?

massysett 10y ago
History is full of people making ridiculous claims like this. Years ago no one would have imagined that anyone would work in a society like ours, where extraordinary efficient agriculture means everyone can eat. But people still work, because things like better healthcare and iPhones have a cost. Human wants will expand to fill humankind's greater productive output, just as it has in the past. So I do "get it." I just think you're wrong.