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I think the fear some people have is that if everyone has free food and shelter, we'll lose a massive portion of the labor force because they would have no need

I think the fear some people have is that if everyone has free food and shelter, we'll lose a massive portion of the labor force because they would have no need to work. It is not clear at all to me that it would be objectively good or bad, but some people appear to have picked the other side because they think we'd lose a lot of our nice things.

avianlyric 7y ago
That makes the assumption that people don’t get bored doing nothing, and that peoples only motivation for work is money. I’ve always felt that’s a very reductive view of humanity. Boiling us down to simple automatons that only seek to eat and reproduce, nothing more. I would hope the vibrancy of human civilisation would be enough to show that isn’t true. Unfortunately people that seem to have little faith in humanity, alway believe that they, and their peers, are special and that the rest of humanity is a lost cause. That always makes me a little sad.
blunte 7y ago
I wonder what it would be like (in a fantasy scenario) if everyone had their needs provided for at a basic level, and they could choose to spend their time doing whatever they felt passionate or curious about. For example, some people might learn to play one or more instruments; others might become gardeners; others painters, tinkerers, makers, hackers (as in builders), cooks, and so on. I don't believe most people would just sit on their asses and do nothing. Some people really enjoy business and trade, and they would probably just work on creating some kind of business that they enjoyed (like procuring and selling high quality lamps!... and eventually designing their own). We know that people tend to work harder at something they care about. So if we all got to work on things we cared about instead of what was available or what paid (or paid best), it's fathomable that society might have a higher and higher quality output. It's impossible to know since we can't really test it, but I like to imagine that scenario.

avianlyric 7y ago

That makes the assumption that people don’t get bored doing nothing, and that peoples only motivation for work is money. I’ve always felt that’s a very reductive view of humanity. Boiling us down to simple automatons that only seek to eat and reproduce, nothing more. I would hope the vibrancy of human civilisation would be enough to show that isn’t true. Unfortunately people that seem to have little faith in humanity, alway believe that they, and their peers, are special and that the rest of humanity is a lost cause. That always makes me a little sad.

blunte 7y ago

I wonder what it would be like (in a fantasy scenario) if everyone had their needs provided for at a basic level, and they could choose to spend their time doing whatever they felt passionate or curious about. For example, some people might learn to play one or more instruments; others might become gardeners; others painters, tinkerers, makers, hackers (as in builders), cooks, and so on. I don't believe most people would just sit on their asses and do nothing. Some people really enjoy business and trade, and they would probably just work on creating some kind of business that they enjoyed (like procuring and selling high quality lamps!... and eventually designing their own). We know that people tend to work harder at something they care about. So if we all got to work on things we cared about instead of what was available or what paid (or paid best), it's fathomable that society might have a higher and higher quality output. It's impossible to know since we can't really test it, but I like to imagine that scenario.