Imagine the capitalistic (!) opportunities that would exist if we had universal healthcare and basic safety-nets. "Gig economy" jobs could actually function as

Imagine the capitalistic (!) opportunities that would exist if we had universal healthcare and basic safety-nets. "Gig economy" jobs could actually function as a reasonable and real system for working, instead of being something dystopian and abusive. As a society we've hung so many things off of this framework of "being an employee" (healthcare, retirement, the ability to not work for a small part of the year), that there's no room for any other paradigm without having people forego fundamental needs. Unfortunately times are dire enough that people do so anyway, but that's a separate question.