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pelathos t1_j584vfn wrote

Grim.

Technology is a double edged sword. An amplifier. If we continue with this monetary market, infinite growth based death spiral? More tech and more advances tech will just amplify that.

What's needed is a revolution of thought. Away from these left/right, capitalist/communist dualities and into heterodox thinking around wtf can we do to make life better for all people and all animals and the environment itself.

But of course that's easier said than done. Most people are stupid and their heads are full ideas that are no longer relevant.

So, on the surface, with some clever "economics" and official-looking stats and graphs, it looks like progress. But if you ask individual people, at the social level? It'll just get tougher and tougher to be alive. And even then, some people are so lost that they actually believe in their own indoctrination, which will skew the results of course.

I imagine life was easier before civilization. At a time when we lived as hunter gatherers. Short lives, yes. But simple nonetheless. Easy to understand. We were mere animals but it worked fine. Most deaths, as far as I know, were due to nature. Today? People routinely die due to inadequasies of the system.

Think about medicine for example. It's the third leading cause of death. Think about that for a minute! Iatrogenic effects are hugely underestimated! And don't get me started on psychiatry. Ok, you got me started, let me just mention this: it seems to be the case that many of the popular "medicines" or drugs for common so-called mental illnesses (which are in 90% of cases normal human responses to whatever fucked up environments people find themselves in), actually cause the very diseases they are purported to correct. How fucked up is thst? And how is this even possible? Easy: $$$!

Basically, more stuff = more stuff that can go wrong (and it will, at least for a while).

However, there is the possibility of a post scarcity system. A global system of cooperation. Where science and technology is used to enhance life and protect the environment.

But if that's to happen, we need to move away from this hyper individualistic, self centered model of Western Capitalism / monetary market system.

We need a new kind of religion, or something akin to it. One that combines the best elements of Western enlightenment ideas and Eastern philosophy. Science and soul, equally. Balance. Heterodox thinking. Minimal games. Honesty. This is new to most people. It's hard work to live like that. Especially in a world so saturated with artificiality and vanity.

The biggest hurdle is the money game. That shit has to go.... Somehow...

I'd suggest people look into alternative systems. New ideas. Some have been thinking along these lines already (Jacque Fresco, Bucky Fuller etc.) , but we desperately need more.

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Smellz_Of_Elderberry t1_j5dqici wrote

It's why some people say "culture is everything". A technological revolution without a cultural/thought based revolution, will simply lead to all of the problems we have today growing exponentially. Think privacy concerns worsening by leaps and bounds.. (we know what you are thinking and remove the "threat to our cultural norms" before it becomes a threat). Think about how having a fundamentally greater understanding of how the mind works will lead to innovation in the control of people's thoughts.. The possible way things can "and probably will" go wrong is staggering when you really stop and think. I think many will come to be.. Even groups which supposedly are designed to combat such a future are simply bringing it into existence.. Look at open ai, it was supposed to be an open source group that worked with the community to come up with solutions to the problems ai would create. Now? It's a walled garden, with billions coming in from mega corps, with ever increasing ideological censorship baked into its products.. I personally think things will get unimaginably bad, and then unimaginably good.. But it could just as easily go unimaginably bad and stay that way.

Idk if I agree with removing money.. as you won't be removing barter or all forms of power.. power exists regardless of money. Do you have a higher iq? A more attractive face? Are you able to imagine stories in your minds eye with clarity? Then you have some form of capital that makes you more wealthy than those who don't. Would we make kindness something that can only be doled out in equal measure? If one parent loves their child more than another, is it good to remove the loving parent simply because you're unable to find a parent to love the other equally as much? Hyperbole, but you get my point. Money is as bad as the person spending it, and the people accepting it. Outside of creating simulated worlds, it's impossible to give everyone true equality.

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pelathos t1_j5hkbui wrote

The idea of removing money is a radical thought, but I'm not advocating utopia or equality of outcome.

There will always be people who are more attractive, more talented in certain areas and so on. Hierarchies aren't inherently evil.

What I advocate is investigation into the idea of making the basics available to people. Food. Shelter. Health care. Automation. A sharing economy, where most items wil be rented for free in a library. You can rent it for however long you see fit. Certain items can be personal and kept forever in some cases. 3d printing facilities available for everyone. Emphasis on reuse of products.

Its difficult to imagine such a society, but we need to consider these options. It may be possible.

If you throw away the need for economic growth and therefore cyclical consumption, you automatically get vastly better products because planned obsolescence is no longer needed to maintain profit. Instead of products cheaply made thst break down, you get modular, upgradable products that might last an order of magnitude longer. As a result of thst, you get lower demand, which saves the environment too.

The end of hustle culture. The end of celebrity culture. The end of a large amount of artificiality. Not to mention, an end to most wars (which are mostly based on resource/territorial scarcity as far as I understand).

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Smellz_Of_Elderberry t1_j5hro22 wrote

I need to learn a LOT more before I either support or condemn what you're saying. I'll give it some thought going and give the two people you recommended a listen. :)

I certainly look forward to an end to hustle culture, I hate my job and would very much prefer if I didn't have to do it any longer. Carpentry apparently used to be a fun profession, now it's just rush rush rush, so you can maybe end up with a smidgen of profit at the end of a project. No focus on creating a truly unique and quality piece of work.. just something good enough, so you can make some profit in the margins.

Everything is like this now, efficiency is everything, and it's soul killing.

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pelathos t1_j5hy1aw wrote

Mm. Money seems to hinder creativity indeed. And it's a very small group of people whose passion happens to be there job ad well.

Do give them a listen. The late Jacque Fresco was a modern Davinci!

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AldrichRW t1_j59p03b wrote

Your comment resonated with me. Well said friend 👍

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