Re:Basic income as an answer to all out automation
by chii on Monday June 24, 2013 @10:16AM
(#5933004)
i believe that the post-capitalist utopia is on a disjointed line to the current world (i.e., there is no step, short of complete jump, that will bring us from here to there). The reason i have is that people either have a way to escape the poverty trap or they don't. I argue that most don't (the rare ones who do are exceptions). This way, the poor either eventually die out (not likely - welfare keeps the group of poor people limping on while not giving them any way out), or somehow, a truely altruistic person/group (the likes of Bill Gates, but much much more resourced) ends up being able to carry the entire burden of resource production for each and every single person ; ala the big jump i mentioned above.
I can make my robot work for myself, to build myself a palace, or I can make my robot work for you, to build you a simple home.
A capitalist is only motivated to do the latter because they get something beneficial in return - if I already have a robot who can work for free, then you may have nothing much more to offer me: I would have to be really an unusually altruistic capitalist to bother to help you.
I understand the concept of a post-capitalist utopia, but we have to get through the intermediate stage first.