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If people can do whatever they want, does that include those running the robots? Because if I'm a robot operator and you can do whatever you want, then I know

If people can do whatever they want, does that include those running the robots? Because if I'm a robot operator and you can do whatever you want, then I know I'm not going to get anything of value from you. So why should I work beyond Tuesday to make stuff that you need to live? I may as well go home and be 'free'. Your money is literally worthless to me. We know what everybody doing what they want leads to. It leads to land redistribution and hyperinflation - as demonstrated in spades in Zimbabwe. Unless you are completely self-sufficient then you have to look at the systemic impact of your idea on everybody. Then you'll find it has a severe fallacy of composition in it. The mega rich get away with it simply because they have a slave class (the rest of us) to do their bidding. If you can do whatever you want, who is the slave class working more than they need to to service your needs? To maintain an advanced society we need the robots working 24x7 and the land worked 24x7. To get people to give up their time to do that you have to give them something in return. Money isn't enough. That is the service to others you have to do if you want the carrots others grow. As Ali said: Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. What we lack is a mechanism to allow people to make that rent.

Matumio 9y ago
> If you can do whatever you want, who is the slave class working more than they need to to service your needs? Obviously that would be the machines. You need people to maintain those, but less human time is required to produce the same goods. Basic things might get so cheap that they're almost free. > What we lack is a mechanism to allow people to make that rent. Sounds like you want something like a job guarantee. Sure, there is never a lack of useful work that you could force people into. But there is simply not enough work that is essential enough that you could argue, from an economic point of view, that everyone has to work 5 days a week just to earn their right to exist.
stale2002 9y ago
Robots would do the work. The future may not need many human robot operators either. If the world only needs a couple hundred thousand people to run the robots, maybe there will be enough of them who are willing to do it just because it is fun to run the robots and provide for the world. People do charity all the time today and the world of the future would need much less charity. Obviously most people would not be interested in doing this work for free. But fortunately we might only need. 0.001% of the population to be willing to do it for free. I expect that at least 0.001% of the population in the future will be charitable enough that they will be willing to do work for free in order to provide for the entire world, by running the robots.

Matumio 9y ago

> If you can do whatever you want, who is the slave class working more than they need to to service your needs? Obviously that would be the machines. You need people to maintain those, but less human time is required to produce the same goods. Basic things might get so cheap that they're almost free. > What we lack is a mechanism to allow people to make that rent. Sounds like you want something like a job guarantee. Sure, there is never a lack of useful work that you could force people into. But there is simply not enough work that is essential enough that you could argue, from an economic point of view, that everyone has to work 5 days a week just to earn their right to exist.

stale2002 9y ago

Robots would do the work. The future may not need many human robot operators either. If the world only needs a couple hundred thousand people to run the robots, maybe there will be enough of them who are willing to do it just because it is fun to run the robots and provide for the world. People do charity all the time today and the world of the future would need much less charity. Obviously most people would not be interested in doing this work for free. But fortunately we might only need. 0.001% of the population to be willing to do it for free. I expect that at least 0.001% of the population in the future will be charitable enough that they will be willing to do work for free in order to provide for the entire world, by running the robots.