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Originally Posted by demonrail666

OK, fine. But my point still stands. If people want to get into that they can maybe transfer their UBI into a UBC. I won't complain if they end up doing really well out of it, but as someone who reads this stuff and frankly hasn't the foggiest, I'd rather just take my chances with a liveable income, discipline myself to spend within my means each month (which I've been doing all my adult life anyway) and accept my fate.

i hear you and that is a great point. indeed could be swappable—that’s what an annuity is, or a dividend fund.

and your stoic stance should be the beginning of everything.

unfortunately “discipline” is un-pc these days. “oppression,” or something. “how can i have discipline i deserve to eat at the same restaurants everyone else does” etc.

the other thing to consider is that beyond our basic needs (see maslow’s hierarchy etc) the economy is determined by DESIRE. i.e., what is valuable is what people want. a baby beanie or a hot croissant or an airplane.

what humans may desire in the age of basic need satisfaction is unfathomable to us. might look like star trek—materialize a meal on command, yet chase the dilithium across the galaxy.

maybe porn stars will become the new bazillionaires because bots wont be able to best them for a while. or professional dancers. who knows really? we can’t know.

but it’s the next big thing to solve. unlimited solar power, vat meat, robotic labor... where does it end? i expect once liberated of basic needs we might reach for unimaginable things. then again could be zardoz-like stagnation. or dumb shit like twitter fame—humans are hierarchical after all.

alternatively, look at borges’ “utopia of a tired man”, or however “utopía de un hombre que está cansado” was translated.

i like speculating about this shit. might be important, might be pointless wank, but do you remember life pre-internet? hahahahaaaaaa

i was living in the middle ages until recently in a voluntary experiment. trust me, the present is fantastic and we’re rich beyond the wildest dreams of our ancestors.

i drink better wine than charlemagne ever did and it comes in a box that takes 2 hours of minimum wage to pay.

please enjoy the ride.