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> So if you think my thought experiment can come to pass - we need to be very concerned. We only need to be concerned if we make the assumption that societal e
by owenmarshall 13y ago
> So if you think my thought experiment can come to pass - we need to be very concerned.
We only need to be concerned if we make the assumption that societal expectations won't adjust as well. "Hard work" is seen as a virtue; someone who takes government assistance is pitied at best, considered "parasitic" at worst.
If we take those views into your world it will be a disaster. But instead the real question should be "why does everyone need to have a job?" If we provide for the needs of people displaced by the new machines, we'd free people up to pursue arts, philosophy, or even simple leisure. We'd be living in Bertrand Russell's paradise of 'idleness'.
- acgourley 13y agoRight - each countries choices would be: 1. drastic wealth redistribution 2. revolution Working under the premise (2) should be avoided, I favor discussions around basic income.
- JoeAltmaier 13y agoWealth is imaginary points. Standard of living is the true measure. If most folks didn't have any money at all, but food housing and entertainment were a civil right, then who's to complain or revolt?
- TheCoelacanth 13y agoWealth != money. Food, housing and entertainment are all wealth.
- JoeAltmaier 13y agoOk, if you change the meaning of words we can't have a nice conversation. We all understand wealth to be money, stock, ownership. So maybe the housing could come under that (if you owned your apartment) but not the others.
- argonaut 13y ago> we'd free people up to pursue a̶r̶t̶s̶,̶ ̶p̶h̶i̶l̶o̶s̶o̶p̶h̶y̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶l̶e̶i̶s̶u̶r̶e̶ mindless hedonism. Corrected. Positive statement, not normative as below might think.
- owenmarshall 13y ago> mindless hedonism. Ignoring the fact that this is a pretty offensive reduction to apply to most people, I'd ask: Does it really matter? And if so, why?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- lostcolony 13y agoAnd this is the real question (not the rhetorical "why does everyone need to have a job?"). Can people adjust culturally to the idea that guaranteed income/wealth/whatever could be a good thing, and lead to a pursuit of creativity and innovation, not merely hedonistic, fleeting pleasures? I.e., can we as a society accept the possibility, and make it a reality, that a guaranteed income (in whatever form it takes), frees us from mindless grunt work and inspires us to pursue our dreams, or do we force those whose jobs have disappeared to suffer poverty because there is no 'need' for them?