To go on a bit of a tangent, I’m somewhat pessimistic that western societies will plateau and hit a “technofeudalism” in the next century or two. Combine what y

To go on a bit of a tangent, I’m somewhat pessimistic that western societies will plateau and hit a “technofeudalism” in the next century or two. Combine what you mention with other aspects of capital efficiency. It’s not a unique idea, and is played out in a lot of “classic” sci-fi like Diamond Age. Now it’s also not necessarily that bad of a state. That’s depending on ensuring a few ground elements are in place like people being able to grow their own food (or supplemental food) or still being free to design and build things on their own. If corporations restrict that then people will be at their mercy for all the essentials of life. My take from history is that I’d prefer to have been a peasant during much of the Middle Ages than a factory worker during the industrial revolution. [1] Then again Chinese people have been willing (seemingly) to leave farms in droves for the last decades to accept the modern version of factory life so perhaps farming peasant life isn’t as idyllic as it’d sound. [2] 1: https://www.lovemoney.com/galleries/84600/how-many-hours-did-people-really-work-across-human-history https://www.lovemoney.com/galleries/84600/how-many-hours-did... 2: https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0123/p08s01-woap.html https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0123/p08s01-woap.html