Following up on Jed's recent commentary... It's logical to assume that as automation and cheaper energy resources generate more goods and products (both tangible and intangible) what would be considered the "basic necessities of life" will systematically begin including additional entitlements that had in the past had only been considered luxuries that the rich and well-off could afford. I suspect everyone can Grok the natural progression pertaining to what everyone would be entitled to simply by looking at past history.
IMO, the difference in perspective between Jed's and mine isn't significant. One difference might lie in the quantification of "units of money." How will we perceive the concept of "money" in a future society when money is no longer viewed as something we must "earn" in order to survive? In my scenario, I envision we might all be given a base "allowance", that we can choose to spend that "allowance" on whatever we might like, presumably in order to purchase food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and maybe a little bit of entertainment & the arts. Perhaps some think-tank organization will determine how much "allowance" money is an adequate sum to distribute evenly amongst all the citizens. However... Inevitably, some of the citizenry in this brave new world will not manage their "allowance" as prudently as others might. Some might spend the majority of their allowance on various forms of personal entertainment and suddenly have no money left over to pay the monthly rent, so to speak. Actually, this scenario is pretty close to what actually happened within the Saudi Arabia kingdom in the early days when oil first gushed out of the wells. Back in the golden age all the king's princes got exorbitant annual allowances - to spend as they wished. Invariably, and like clock-work most princes came back before the end of the year complaining about the fact that they didn't have enough money in which to support the life-style they had become accustomed to. They came back with their hands out because they knew they could. They knew daddy would shill out. Ironically in the early days the kingdom was headed for bankruptcy despite the fact that the land was rolling and broiling in oil and money. Eventually, and fortunately, saner financial-minded heads within in the Saudi clan prevailed. They whispered a suggestion to the king's ear, and fortunately, the king listened. He king issued a simple mandate on allowance day when all his children stopped by to grab their allotted allowances: "Here's your allowance for the year" sed the king. "Be warned:" he added, "You will not get a gold coin more till next year, so spend it wisely." Through trial and error most eventually wised up and began living within the means of their allowance. You can read about this fascinating tale in a book published back in the 80s called "The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Sa'Ud ", published 1983: http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Arabia-House-SaUd/dp/0380617625/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283450641&sr=1-3 http://tinyurl.com/2ftvk6f Curiously, this used book now, now decades old, sells for $40 or more at Amazon.com. The book was substantially cheaper when I bought it back in the 80s. However, I suppose when adjusted for inflation the current price might not be all that exorbitant. ;-) But once again, I'm rambling. The final point to this particular thought piece is speculating on whether in the future it might be a whole lot easier to simply allocate the basics of certain necessary goods and services, like food, clothing, shelter and transportation to everyone - where no money at all is involved or exchanged. On top of that, however, give everyone a base allowance of credits to spend as they see fit, presumably to enrich their life styles. Meanwhile, the smarter, the more ambitious within society (either individually or organized within the structure of group with a particular purpose in mind) can then go back to the "Universal Bank of Credits" so-to-speak, and make a formal credit request, where they explain exactly what it is that they intend to do with the requested credits. Presumably the protocol would be something akin to a formal proposal, a grant for a specified sum of credits. Depending on how generous the UBC might be, which in turn is likely to depend on how much surplus resources are currently held in the coffers, they may or may not get everything they asked for. Obviously, and as Jed hints at, there really is a lot that needs to be worked out for this brave new world to thrive and grow. Personally, I hope it will be a place where money is no longer perceived (nor coveted) in the same manner that it is now. I think it would be imperative to cultivate at a very early age in everyone something akin to an essential responsibility to both self-improve as well as to assist in the general maintenance of society. Granted, the latter concept is a bit nebulous, but I think most get the general picture of what I'm suggesting; perhaps something akin to performing several years of mandatory "service", particularly when we are still young and idealistic. We must cultivate a need, something akin to a biological URGE to self-improve which, in turns, benefits a society that allows us the freedom to pursue our unique predilections from cradle to grave. IMO, if such "urges" fail to take hold our future, despite all the inherited fruits automation would give us, would rapidly devolve into nothing more than a society populated by Eloi oblivious to endless harvest seasons managed by Morlocks. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
