we're so sophisticated now that we abstract the idea of work away from the idea of making a living (as in being able to be alive, as opposed to dead) and come u

we're so sophisticated now that we abstract the idea of work away from the idea of making a living (as in being able to be alive, as opposed to dead) and come up with concepts like UBI where we can simply not work, without realizing that not working correlates with not living. work is not some thing apart from ourselves. work is not something apart from play or recreation or relaxation or any such things. we move and create and change and destroy all the same. we value these things as part of our social fabric of keeping a community of us humans alive. money lets us abstract away the need to trade immediate goods for that purpose, but it also lets us abstract out the fairness of it all. those who seem to contribute more to the general welfare might deserve a little more in return, whether it be in goods or esteem or respect. but we're all expected to put in along with taking out. UBI would tear up that implicit social contract and unmoor us from our democratic underpinnings. while well-intended, UBI suffers from the same idealism as libertarianism by failing to grasp even a basic modicum of the human condition. despite automation, people will create ways to make a living. lives are literally depending on it. that's not to advocate long-term suffering, but our social responsibility should be focused on using our natural craftiness to help others help themselves (and leveling the playing field), not providing handouts.