Post scarcity is literally impossible.
Why?
Because there's always going to be something that's scarce. Even if you have unlimited food and stuff, you can't have everything.
The factories can pump out stuff (or even your personal replicator in the star trek future), but the fact that someone hand built a thing is important to humans and there's a limited amount of that which can be done.
There might be all kinds of track housing, but nice beachfront property is geographically limited, everyone can't have some. The places with the nicest weather, that's limited, everyone can't have some. Places where the talented people gather, that's limited and not everyone can be there at once.
There's stuff that isn't stuff. Megan Fox can't be married with kids to all of us. She can't even bang everyone who wants to bang her, because there's only one Megan Fox. Oh, and let's not forget, maybe you wanted to bang 2000s Megan Fox oops she's approaching 40. So not even Megan Fox is Megan Fox.
There's more stuff that isn't stuff. Hey, you want John Carmack to help work on the game you're working on? Tough, there's just one, and you're just some idiot in the middle of nowhere, he's not going to work with you on your thing. You want top artists to do your art for you? Tough, they've got options. You want top musicians to do the music for you? Tough, they've got 24 hours in a day and not one for you. Amy Hennig to be the creative director? Tough, she doesn't even know your name.
I wrote long ago that economics include money but don't necessarily require money. There's always going to be scarcity, and that scarcity is always going to be settled one way or another. Unlimited stuff from highly efficient factories can't change that. Human beings don't work that way, and neither does the universe.
Why?
Because there's always going to be something that's scarce. Even if you have unlimited food and stuff, you can't have everything.
The factories can pump out stuff (or even your personal replicator in the star trek future), but the fact that someone hand built a thing is important to humans and there's a limited amount of that which can be done.
There might be all kinds of track housing, but nice beachfront property is geographically limited, everyone can't have some. The places with the nicest weather, that's limited, everyone can't have some. Places where the talented people gather, that's limited and not everyone can be there at once.
There's stuff that isn't stuff. Megan Fox can't be married with kids to all of us. She can't even bang everyone who wants to bang her, because there's only one Megan Fox. Oh, and let's not forget, maybe you wanted to bang 2000s Megan Fox oops she's approaching 40. So not even Megan Fox is Megan Fox.
There's more stuff that isn't stuff. Hey, you want John Carmack to help work on the game you're working on? Tough, there's just one, and you're just some idiot in the middle of nowhere, he's not going to work with you on your thing. You want top artists to do your art for you? Tough, they've got options. You want top musicians to do the music for you? Tough, they've got 24 hours in a day and not one for you. Amy Hennig to be the creative director? Tough, she doesn't even know your name.
I wrote long ago that economics include money but don't necessarily require money. There's always going to be scarcity, and that scarcity is always going to be settled one way or another. Unlimited stuff from highly efficient factories can't change that. Human beings don't work that way, and neither does the universe.
Yes, that experiment seems to prove you can't just give people everything because it'll destroy them. Ironically, we're seeing that in some subcultures that are highly protected by the state -- without any reason to do anything productive, you end up with people who just destroy everything around them, whereas throughout history you've seen people with much less live much happier lives because they had a reason to go out and do something productive.
Caesar Milan talks about it a lot with dogs -- the problem dogs have isn't that they're not loved enough, it's that they need a job and if you're not walking them enough and tiring them out they start misbehaving because they're trying to do something. I think we have the same thing with people, people tearing up the furniture because life is just handed to them with the best of intentions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCYooC9yys8
Caesar Milan talks about it a lot with dogs -- the problem dogs have isn't that they're not loved enough, it's that they need a job and if you're not walking them enough and tiring them out they start misbehaving because they're trying to do something. I think we have the same thing with people, people tearing up the furniture because life is just handed to them with the best of intentions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCYooC9yys8
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