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Isn't the ultimate goal of technology for no one to have to work unless they want to, while providing utopian material abundance to everyone regardless of wheth
by landryraccoon 6y ago
Isn't the ultimate goal of technology for no one to have to work unless they want to, while providing utopian material abundance to everyone regardless of whether they work? Of course this isn't possible with our current level of technology, but isn't that what we are striving towards?
I mean, what's the point of building AI and robots and advanced energy sources and bio engineering if they don't fundamentally improve the quality of life for everyone? I certainly don't think there's some moral requirement to force everyone to work.
- dry_soup 6y agoUnder capitalism, no, that's not what anyone is working towards.
- happytoexplain 6y agoAmerica isn't strictly, for all time, and to the absolute exclusion of all other systems, capitalistic. No society is, for any system.
- duckMuppet 6y agoWhich is a primary reason for the push against capitalism
- WalterBright 6y agoPeople thrive when they have a purpose in life and problems to solve. Take away their problems and purpose and: 1. they'll invent problems I.e. "first world problems". We (in America, anyway) live in an incredible utopia by any historical standard. But I read on the news every day about an endless series of phony crises. (The coronavirus thing is a real crisis, but even so, by historical epidemics it is not that bad. The bubonic plague, for example, killed something like 35%.) 2. they'll be miserable and self-destructive This is a well known problem with the offspring of very wealthy people who never had to try at anything. 3. they die People often die shortly after their retirement. They don't survive the loss of purpose.
- landryraccoon 6y agoJeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg never need to work another day in their lives. Are you arguing they are miserable, self destructive, have lost purpose and will soon die? People don't need a Sword of Damocles hanging over their head threatening them with homelessness, loss of medical treatment and hunger solely because they didn't find purpose in life. How is being miserable and self destructive and losing purpose, as a worst case scenario, worse than homelessness, drug addiction, loss of friendship, family, self respect, health and medical treatment? I mean, I don't see the connection. Are you saying that unless people are literally threatened with homelessness, starvation and death they won't find purpose on their own?
- WalterBright 6y agoSome people do find purpose on their own. Many do not. I recall a story about a guy in his 90's who got a job as a Walmart greeter. The reporter asked him why not just enjoy his golden years? The fellow said he needed a reason to get up in the morning. He worked at that Walmart until he died, living many more (by all reports happy) years.
- landryraccoon 6y agoI don’t get it. Why would having his basic needs met stop him from being a Walmart greeter? If someone wants to be a Walmart greeter they can still do that. Basic income and social support doesn’t stop that.
- WalterBright 6y agoImagine your 30 year old son is living in your basement playing video games, which is all he's done since high school. You can easily afford to continue to support him - but how would you feel about it?
- throwanem 6y agoApplying the logic of household economics to government never, of course, goes wrong.