MQ-
Let's slow things down. And shorten them.
By <<self-less people>> I don't mean cultists but people who don't or won't profit by robbing others. There are millions of them. Few happen to be Rand-ists. Most are just trying to take care of their families. In this sense, they, too, are self-interested. But unlike doctors, divorce attorneys, and insurance agents (who deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions), they do not prey on the misfortunes of others. I'm talking about people whose concepts of morality include other people.
<<People to work the fields and factories>> I will be happy to see, if I live long enough, robots to do the difficult and tedious things that need doing. This is why I think the future, if we look out far enough, will not include money. There will be too few ways for people to earn it. But your vision of utopia doesn't address now...
<<What's wrong with more and more money?>> Don't get me wrong. There is a lot of work that needs doing. The problem lies when people won't work unless they get money. i.e. The doctor who won't treat a patient because the patient doesn't have enough money. Should we insist also that spouses working at home get salaries? Should kids have to pay back their parents for the expenses incurred while raising them? Should volunteering be outlawed? In my utopian vision, we don't want everybody working for more and more money. We want everybody working, doing what needs doing, and for no money!
<<Maximizing consumption is good and environmentally sound?>> Jeez Louise! I know you get kicks out of riling up your readers (and a confession, so do I), but this is too silly to respond to. For a crowded planet, the dominant paradigm has to be living lightly. |
