Can Universal Basic Income End Our Cultural Obsession With Work? | Philosopher Andrew Taggart
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- Can Universal Basic Income End Our Cultural Obsession With Work?
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In 1948, German philosopher Josef Pieper predicted that society was headed for a dystopia he called 'Total Work'. With most of us in 2017 working too long, missing social events, working on weekends, and egging on our older years just for the retirement, practical philosopher Andrew Taggart believes we have reached the verge of that dystopia. He describes the conditions that are tightening around us-our lives are scheduled around the needs of our jobs, our time with family and friends is subordinated to it (in a 5:2 ratio!), and our free time increasingly resembles work, in vocabulary and in action: we run errands, aim to have "productive" days, try to rest so that we are fresh for Monday-the start of another week. Taggart thinks Universal Basic Income is the ideological push we need to begin questioning how we can cut loose from our cultural obsession with work, and how we might live in a world without it. Are we human beings, or instruments of productivity? Has our intense focus on work become pathological? For more, visit andrewjtaggart.com.
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ANDREW TAGGART:
Andrew J. Taggart is a practical philosopher and entrepreneur who teaches individuals and organizations how to inquire into the things that matter most. For several years, he has led a philosophy practice in which he speaks daily over Skype with entrepreneurs, business executives, artists, the ecologically minded, and seekers about the nature of a good life. He and those he speaks with have at least one common thought: “There must be more than this because this is not enough.”
In 2009, he finished a Ph.D., left the academic life, and moved to New York City with the goal to return the fundamental question of “how to live” to people’s everyday lives. He feels that in its very being, philosophy is a pursuit whose final aim is to help all people to lead the most excellent human lives that they can: considered, aware, vibrantly alive.
Andrew is a faculty member in Lougheed leadership at The Banff Centre in Canada, where he trains creative leaders, and at Kaos Pilots in Denmark, where he teaches social entrepreneurs and enterprising artists. He is the author of several books addressed to general readers, including The Art of Inquiry, Cultivating Discipline Lightly, The Good Life and Sustaining Life, and, most recently, Money Rules for Simple Living.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew Taggart: 'Total work' was a term coined by Josef Pieper, a lesser known German philosopher from the 20th century, and he was concerned that after World War II there would be a time of total work. By that I take him to mean that work comes to be the center around which the world turns. Human beings start to see themselves chiefly as workers, and the entirety of life becomes more and more work, or work like. To see this we can begin to examine a number of what I might call tightening conditions. So the first condition would be the centrality of work. We've come to think that work is actually the center and everything else begins to turn around it. To see this more clearly we can think about the fact that we woke up to go to work today or that we are going home from work today. That we are preparing for work. That we are preparing to leave work. And this is happening all the way around the world. Meanwhile we’re adjusting our schedules, the rest of our lives, so that they are turning about it. So that would be the first condition. The second condition is subordination. That everything else in life comes to seem as if it’s subordinate to, and to be put in the service of, work. We can think of sleeping: the idea is that we wish to sleep well today in order to be focused and prepared for work. And that when we’re at work we wish to be as productive as possible. So sleep becomes that which is an instrument in the service of productivity. And we can play that game with all sorts of different instances.
The third condition is the resemblance claim. It seems as if everything else in life comes to resemble work, more and more. So you can think of, on a day off you are wanting to be as productive as possible, thinking about how much you got done. You can begin to think about all the ways in which you plan and schedule time with children. The terms that begin to mark out our lives even when we’re not actually working sound more and more work like.
And the last condition I think is the most intense and t...
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$10 an hour, 40 hours a week, is $1600 a month. A one bedroom apartment in Ocean County, NJ where I live averages $1,100 a month PLUS UTILITIES. Then groceries, gasoline or public transport, phone, insurance, etc and that leaves NOTHING left over. Nobody should HAVE to work over 40 hours a week. We are slaves.
youre an idiot. there are millions of people who are stuck in low wage jobs their whole life working their asses off. raised in unfortunate families, low education or just living in places where all the industries and businesses are gone. not everyone is going to get promoted and get a really good job and not everyone wants to live in 1 bedroom apartment their whole life. you make 3000 you have a 3 bedroom apartment same story. most people cant follow their life standard with their income, you have family, kids, need two cars for work, expensive insurance one child is sick...... you can never work enough. if you get a job. if.
thats not how it needs to be but we are too scared and too dumb to change the system.
The idea that you are "supposed to improve and get promoted" is bullshit. Very few will ever get that. And even if they did, there will always be people at the bottom. You're never going to have people all eventually get promoted. Whether you want to contribute laziness, stupidity or whatever... These people will exist in our society, and making living very hard for them shows up negatively as some turn to crime because they don't want to live that life, or stumble upon some horrible financial issue and need money. Having people live in poverty increases crime. Where as if you allow for people to live in some aspect of financial comfort, less will be quick to crime. Less will lash out at authorities. Honestly, you might have more obedient little slaves that way....Unless we are talking Universal basic income, then you might get people with too much free time to think and see the issues with those at the top holding all the power.
The cream rises to the top.
total agree like im not rich sometime i get the into mind like fuck why not do some crime you know but then i remain calm by smoking pot and looking forward to how the future will look like... The game is changing faster than ever and not alot people are aware
Society doesn't need more useful people. Full automation is coming soon.
The comment section has shown that the biggest difficulty with this idea is the monumental worldwide sociopsychological shift that will need to take place before people can accept that this is the only way forward in a world of exponentially increasing automation
Amen to that!
Time will tell who's right. I'd be leery of presuming the future will be like the past.
+NesRocksIt1 Automation has displaced different parts of human labour, closing some doors and opening others. As machines get more capable at replacing human labour, both physical and mental , there will be no reason to employ a human when you have a far better substitute available. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when - a few decades or a few centuries. Either way, we are actively creating a superior entity to ourselves, and it's up to us if humans have a right to existence despite little to no utility, or if we should just become extinct to create room for our superior creations.
I like this. But without work, we focus on other things. Things like leisure and enjoying ourselves- improving our standard of living. Because now that you don't have to worry about earning a living, you try and actually improve the comfort with which you live. If you ask me, you will not stop working but merely stop working to earn a living.
stop working just to survive... kinda sounds like heaven
If you give a man all the food and cakes he wants, and leave him with his only preoccupation being the progression of the species, he will take a hammer and cause chaos just for something to happen.
Human nature thrives on struggle. Eliminate it, and they will cause it themselves. This has already been thoroughly studied.
@@Janzer_
It should be given.
@@blooeagle5118
That's bullshit.
This is a video everyone should watch. We were promised that technology would make our lives easier and more meaningful and yet.....we seem to be working more hours, doing insignificant jobs and we are getting less pay.
We have been conned into thinking that work is some sort of virtue when in fact it is a form of social slavery.
I've been living (quite frugally) off of residual income for the last ten years. I do not work. I have absolutely no problem with what to do with my time. I have absolutely no issue with lack of meaning in my life. Work adds NOTHING to the meaning of life, unless you are on some sort of a crusade, or you have turned a hobby or passion into a job. There is plenty to do rather than working some menial sort of job you hate.
That said, a workless society is impossible until we evolve our tools to the point where human effort is no longer necessary to sustain ourselves. Sadly, we are nowhere near that point yet. A Universal Basic Income is none the less a good idea if it replaces the existing welfare systems that effectively, currently, literally pay people to NOT work. (That is not their intent, but that is their real world effect. As long as you are not working, you will be paid, is literally the same thing as paying people to not work.) A Universal basic Income does not do this, it pays a very basic, barely sufficient for sustenance monthly sum, that is crucially IN ADDITION to what you make working. You do not lose it if you get a job. There is no disincentive to work. That can indeed have a radical effect on people's willingness to make an effort to better their situation.
The normal counter argument to a universal basic income (UBI) is that we cannot afford it. It is true that many of the pie in the sky dreams of socialists are not currently affordable, but that does not mean that a reasonable level of UBI is not affordable. (Most of those who talk about a UBI bandy about sums that are 'not reasonable'.) The trick is to pool all monies that a government currently spends on transfer incomes. That pool gets divided up amongst all citizens. The tax code gets changed to effectively tax back progressively the UBI from those whose incomes are such that they do not need it (lower middle class and up). What is taxed back gets added to the pool. The numbers work out that the US could afford a UBI right now of ~$900. a month, with no new 'net' taxes! As the system matures, that would likely grow to as much as $1400.!
The other typical counter argument is that people would have less motivation to work if we simply gave them money. This ignores however the fact that they do not lose the UBI if they get work (unless they luck into really well paying work, at which point they wouldn't care). Contrary to those fears, rather than the existing welfare system (that UBI would replace) which DOES in fact reduce people's desire to work, a UBI would actually increase people's desire to work. They wouldn't be paid to not work anymore. Any work they do get would better their situation. The actual experiments that have already been performed with UBI show that there is no reduction in people's desire to work. There IS however an increase in people's desire to for instance, stay in school. Interesting, no?
Peter Cohen. Incredible. You are an absolute scholar, my friend.
Where's the residual income coming from?
@RocketPawnch
Porn. Somebody had to do it.
"Tax the middle class" If you do that any more in the current world, the middle class won't exist. It barely has enough breathing room as is. The rich will never allow their money to be distributed to the poor. They'd die before they would show any compassion for people so far beneath them. Have you ever met a rich man in your life? Even the more pleasant ones are usually stingy when it comes to money. "Work hard" They tell me. If these people didn't have monopolies, (and break the law on a regular basis) then maybe I'd buy into their nonsense.
@TheXcable
Please reread what I wrote more carefully. I said that the tax code would be changed to tax back the UBI from those wealthy enough to not need it, but that there would be no change in 'net' taxes. What this means is that the government would give the UBI with one hand, and tax it back with the other. The middle class would NOT be taxed 'more', they would be taxed back exactly as much as they gained from the UBI, and no more. The same goes for the wealthy. My entire point is that a UBI could be financed this way using ONLY the money that is 'currently' being spent without any actual net increase in taxes. Nobody would pay more than they already are, on net.
Work for fulfillment and with a purpose as opposed to spending most of your adult life carrying out the will of a corporate slave owner just so you can obtain the means to acquire your basic human needs? Interesting proposition.
I remember a quote from one doctor who said that he'd never met a single person on their deathbed who wished they'd spent more time at the office.
The UBI sounds like a logical step to take when AI take over jobs. However, humanity as a whole has a lot of adjustment to do. That adjustment is mainly psychological like Andrew pointed out. Humans in the last century or so have built their identity around work and productivity, so much so that their self-esteem and sense of safety and identity is built around work.
People like me who spent a large chunk of life studying to acquire work will suddenly feel lost when my job is replaced by robots. Giving me money (i.e. UBI) isn't going to boost my self-esteem or replace a lost identity. It isn't just about the money... Most people want to work because it gives them a sense of purpose and structure, they feel valued as part of a company/society, and taking that away is a huge blow.
The counter-argument is always this: *"learn new skills, be more creative so AI can't replace you".* But that's easier said than done if you consider the possibility that not everyone is creative or willing to learn. I mean... how many Steve Jobs are there in this world? Most people spent most their lives working their butts off with the promise that they'll enjoy the fruits of their labour. Now we're telling them to "go back to college and start all over"? Damn. That's a raw deal.
The next stage of social and industrial revolution will be a psychological struggle for many, including me. The younger generations will reap most of the benefits of course, but even they will need to learn how to deal with people who just aren't as creative as others.
That is a very insightful post. Even more so when you include the possibilities promised by mature nanotech. With StarTrek level replicators nearly every assumption we've grown up with is out the window. Google won't just be an algorithm that returns web pages for your inquiry nor even base it's return results on your browsing history, but will have the knowledge to understand what you are looking for (even if it's "devise a formula for transparent aluminum")
*" Most people want to work because it gives them a sense of purpose and structure"*
And they will, it's just that they will do so at a level that is natural for them instead of the frenetic pace that gives them high blood pressure and heart attacks. I wouldn't be overly worried that people won't find ways to help and be useful there's always cleaning decorating grooming and exploration...
An advanced AI can also can be creative. Such an AI could replace all jobs, not just traditional blue collar type jobs.
Such things already exist -- artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/cope/Emily-howell.htm
You have been brainwashed into thinking that's all life is about though, Working to make it and prove yourself to others.
No one cares though except you and maybe your close family. Even then they shouldn't care whether you make it or not, We can't all be Bill Gates so you are here and people need to accept it and love you no matter what.
You are wrong on one thing, Most people DO NOT work for a sense of purpose and structure as you say, They work so they don't starve to death or the electricity gets turned off!
If people had the choice of not working while still getting paid to live comfortable life and working 8+ hours for peanuts they will take the no working, Pretty confident on that one! ;)
You would have to be crazy to want to work when there is another option that frees up more than 1/3 of your life and pays you for it!
The adjusting is a non issue, How easy is it to adjust when you take 4 weeks annual leave or 3 months long service, Most people don't want to go back but have to so they can pay the bills!
+Shane McGrath,
I actually studied many years for my job, and I love it.
Some thoughts:
Work always got in the way of my life. I retired at 50 and have had a great time since. Could easily have stopped before I even started work.
Work is doing what other people want.
Most jobs suck. I note that it is academics with interesting carees that espouse the value of work. Not the guy cleaning the sewer.
UBI would be cheaper than the current welfare system of a lot of countries. And would eliminate the barriers to work that welfare systems inherently put in place.
"Basic" will become higher and higher as automation continues to improve. So could provide a really nice life.
American welfare recipients live better than the middle class of many countries.
Money follows the pareto distribution and accumulates to the few.
The rich giving some money back to the masses is a safety valve that reduces the risk of revolution. Give them bread and circus or they will come for you.
There is a paid economy and a volunteer economy (strong in Australia). So if there is less need for money volunteering could rise.
part of why work is so shit is like you say, work is doing what other people want. in a 'socialist' system, workers would have autonomy over their own actions, direction, and distribution of their production. perhaps if we uprooted the system now, people wouldn't feel so shit about doing work. a side thought.
I fully support UBI as an American who knows what it's like to live at work. Aside from all of the other systems we have that need fixing, I think UBI would be a step in the right direction considering populations steadily grow while available jobs steadily decline. If we don't have UBI someday, we'll have to face a serious impasse, and possibly even a bitter down-spiral that could take much of our country's strength and economy with it.
I just got laid off. I dont feel like going through this cycle my whole life...
Sufficiency is ever changing. The minimum standard of living that was acceptable 50 years ago would be considered destitute today. Unless it is severely constrained UBI will become more expensive per recipient and in sum until it bursts like every other economic bubble. When that happens the huge numbers of UBI recipients will be unable to survive.
I wish people commenting here looked into what Communism actually is before completely dismissing this idea as some kind of Soviet dystopia. Politics is more complex then total Capitalism and Total Communism, Capitalism can co-exist with a strong social foundation. Really if you think about it, UBI is the idealist from of capitalism. Most non-skilled labour will be automated which makes production of basic goods massively cheaper, the state hands money to it's citizens which immediately goes back into the economy when citizens pay for these goods. If done responsibly It's a self sustained system. Non essential items like new technologies will require one to generate their own income to afford them, which will propel innovation further because people would be forced to become creative to make money and will be doing so to spend the money on items they desire as opposed to just being able to stay alive.
"UBI is the idealist from of capitalism" 100%
"Most non-skilled labour will be automated which makes production of basic goods massively cheaper" Why does everybody seem to think that automation or tech in general is the bottleneck for UBI to become? Economy is a man-made construct - rather than implementing UBI at the very outset, we were too dumb to realize the benefits, and instead opted to have kings, priests, bankers, tycoons and all those parasites sponge up most of the wealth, while people die of diarrhea; I'm too disappointed at the human species to hope it's gonna happen :(
Sure: communism is where the lazy are entitled to the fruits of others labor and ingenuity, and the hard working and ingenious are not entitled to what they produce. The result is little motivation for anyone to produce anything, beyond the crack of the whip of your communist overlords forcing you to do so. Relying on natural consequences and free exchange is not only more humane, but it also leads to far more wealth to spread in the first place.
Automation ALREADY HAS made things massivly cheaper. It used to be 85% of ones income would go to food back when 85% of people were farmers. If you want to profit from automation, invest in it. Otherwise, enjoy the fact that you don't have to spend 85% of your income on food.
Increasingly the hard working and ingenious do not get their fair share in capitalism either. Now it takes millions to fund a startup and tech field is still like one of the least restrictive(in terms of capital) fields today. While if you are already rich from inheritance you have a huge head start.
A path in-between is the best where people won't need to fear starving to death, but will still need to be productive in some way to gain the "luxury" needs.
blurglide
"Sure: communism is where the lazy are entitled to the fruits of others labor and ingenuity, and the hard working and ingenious are not entitled to what they produce"
I think this massively oversimplifies the issue, and really glosses over everything I've said in the post that you're responding to. Most people aren't lazy, in fact they work incredibly hard. The problem is that we exist in a system that only awards certain forms of hard work, to point where people have to rely on the fruits of others in order to survive. "There is little motivation for anyone to produce anything", this is ridiculous, since when was materialist wealth the only reason to produce anything? And if it was, the answer to this problem is contained within my original post - you have to work for desirable luxury goods if we have UBI, and considering most non-skilled, non-creative jobs are automated you have to invest your time into creativity and innovation to compete. No one is saying - give everyone an iphone and massive tv for free, it's all about reducing the need to work for our whole lives purely so that our essential biological basic needs can be met.
"If you want to profit from automation, invest in it. Otherwise, enjoy the fact that you don't have to spend 85% of your income on food." That's great and all, but you seem to be ignoring that fact that ALOT of people still have to spend 85% of their income on food and/ or rent. Plus almost complete automation of non-skilled work is inevitable whether you like it or not. Millions are going to be unable to work because there is none, and thus will have no money to invest in automation. Something will need to be implemented to keep masses of the population starving to death.
Really? You think it takes more than two sentences to describe communism? My sentence is accurate though. Free exchange rewards people producing things that are in demand, and the price reflects the supply relative to that demand. There's plenty of demand for burger flippers, but the supply of people who can do that is ENORMOUS relative to the moderate demand, so it pays crap. This means if someone is able to find a demand they're able to meet with a low supply, they'll go do that. The end result is everyone working to the best of their ability and resources going to wherever there is the most demand. This is why the poor in capitalist countries typically have a higher standard of living than the average in communist countries. Just existing is insufficient for you to demand the farmer grow your food and the carpenter build you a house. Offer something of similar value to your fellow man to trade for those things, or GTFO. We're not going to work and risk to keep stupid people as pets.
Digging holes and filling them in is hard work, but anyone can do it and there's zero demand, and it creates zero wealth, so it pays zero despite being hard work.
I totally agree with Andrew Taggart. I regard bearing and bringing up the next generation of humans as a really valuable occupation/passtime. However, work outside the family has stolen the importance and time from this. As a result the next generation are short changed, with detrimental result for society.
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It's the only option really, AI will take most jobs leaving vast unemployment. Hopefully it will lead to people pursuing their real goals rather then working mundane, soul crushing jobs.
Ross yeah and the prices will increase and there will be no way to get ahead
SoundProdigy
Prices rising is solely a central banking issue and has absolutely nothing to do with a Universal Basic Income.
Ross: It's not the only option. AI is taking the unskilled jobs. You will need to acquire skills like computer programming to work in the new economy. Working to contribute value to other human being is only "soul crushing" if you are self centered and believe that happiness is to be found in satiating your impulses rather than contributing and/or growing your ability to contribute to the happiness of others. You are mistaken about that. The happiest people in the world are the people who devote their lives to contributing to others. The unhappiest people in the world are those who devote their lives to their own gratification. UBI will create more of the later.
@Alex Ryan
80% of humanity is UTTERLY incapable of doing work such as computer programming. It does not matter how many extra years of school you give them, they simply do not have the creative juice and brain power for it. In ten years, half the jobs that currently exist will be able to be done more cheaply and better by automation. In twenty years it will be 80% of all jobs. In thirty years, ALL jobs, including computer programming, will be done better and more cheaply by AI. We will NOT find 'other' jobs, as those other jobs too will be done better and more cheaply by AI.
If we do not put mechanisms in place to keep those people from starving, the streets will soon run red with blood. They will not meekly roll over and die.
Ross, why not pursue your goal's right now instead of waiting 10 or 20 years, but
alot of people say that you need money to follow your dreams but yet they fail and give up easily when the journey gets hard/they give up on their dreams when the journey gets tough.
My mental health conditions eventually got so bad that I had to be supported by my well-off parents. Due to their finances and generosity my family has been spared the enormous burden that mental illness usually puts on families, and I have been able to seek out effective treatment, thus sparing the social safety net the also huge financial burden of taking care of people like me. I can use my free time to be an advocate for mental health and volunteer at a meditation centre. A lot of my day is still eaten up by mental health issues but I still have time to enjoy what parts of life that I can and feel like a normal person.
This a brilliant and pertinent topic.
Basic income and a percentage cap on business profit especially in vital sectors like food, shelter, education and healthcare; would probably change human existence at least as much as discovering fire or agriculture did.
I live in a capital city, fraught with government jobs, where the remaining private sector caters mostly to this public sector.
I can say from personal experience (of which many people here share) that the main priority isn't work itself, but the perception of work.
The idea isn't to accomplish a thing, but to wait until someone does something, and to attach your name or signature to it.
The problem is as much one of the public sector as it is of the private sector. (sorry, left and right politics)
The truly weird thing is that here, we'll often miss important life opportunities (time with family, seeing your favourite band in concert, etc.) not to accomplish a thing in actuality, but to simulate working.
It's less to do with a problem of economy, and more to do with a problem of this term he uses, describing restlessness, in conjunction with the issue of the hierarchy; the most vital part of ones day is to maintain the performance of being a good little North American.
Sort of like Flakebook updates, where the point isn't to be happy, and to express this digitally, but to simulate happiness at a digital scale.
We don't actually work and build or create things here, but invest as much energy as possible in accomplishing as little as possible. (the status quo).
We are truly weird chimps.
I watch a lot of stuff on #TheSingularity and the talk a lot about UBI. I've never heard it put this way before though. I consider myself a hard worker... 56 hours a week and 5 workouts too. I was on my way to work last Saturday and I remember having a errant thought about "When the Singularity happens and people have UBI...I wonder what they'll do?" I think this guy is right. I never realized I hold work in such high regard. I hope when UBI comes it's like Star Trek, back on Earth there's no money...but people pursue worthwhile objectives.
Isn't it odd that with automation and a decrease in the work required to produce all goods including basic needs, the standard 40 weekly work hours to obtain these needs remains unchanged.
I think it's engineered that way coz with our head down to the grindstone less time and energy to think about the world and challenge the elite & the elite like it like that.
Don't forget that if that variable remains unchanged the profit margin for those at the top go up. Not sure it's causation, but there is definitely a correlation between efficiency advancements not reducing work time, and increase in the wealth gap between top and lower-middle incomes.
I remember a time in America when the economy was one of invention, innovation and personal wealth building. Then we slid into a service economy where everyone works in servitude.
I've heard it describe like this. When two Americans get together usually their first question is what do you do for a living. When two Europeans get together the first question they usually ask is where are you from.
Super interesting and insightful.
Universal Basic Income along with a much more conservative work week (20-25 hours), should be somewhere closer to the answer. I can see the positive and negative affects it could have, and everyone would be affected differently by it. Not working at all while having UBI might leave you with the basic things we all need like food and water, perhaps other bills, but not much beyond that.
This will be brilliant for many people who will then have the time to pursue thier own business, hobbies, craft, etc. Some people really enjoy work however if they love their career.
Perhaps with that extra time, and money which takes care of basic living needs, the stress of needing to work more becomes the desire of wanting to work more. At least for those pursuing their dream career. This might also be a godsend to those with labor intensive jobs or high stress environments. Now they work to pay for the extra things they want, not necessarily need.
Productivity bonuses become an insentive companies could award like overtime pay for optional overtime (25+ hours). This way companies would keep productivity up and people would have more control over how much they worked/made each week. With UBI I couldn't see the average workplace being able to keep mandatory 40 hours a standard, but I could be wrong. Maybe anything over 20 hours is considered overtime, but you still work a full 30-40. This is all speculation and there's alot of ways this could play out.
If we no longer needed work because of a technologically advanced utopian future with friendly compatable A.I., then I could see work being a thing of the past, or at least approached differently.
Very intelligent speaker.
I'd be pursuing philosophical, electronics, etc.
21 year old American here. I want conversations with my friends to deviate away from work, and I want to be less scared that my hours got cut and that I'll be able to sustain a house over my head. We have so many other hobbies and interests we could talk about, and I wish my friends and I could stop working ourselves sick. With AI and automation also becoming frighteningly powerful, I'd really like this idea.
What the speaker did not touch on was the concept of job satisfaction or of loving one's work. Most of us do not have the luxury of not having to work to earn money to live but that doesn't mean that the work we do is purely 100% just for the pay. Some work is done for the satisfaction of the creativity or a job well done or other non-material motivators which contribute to the "life" side of the "work-life" balance.
I’m a lifelong workaholic, not always for financial reasons, and I think the universal basic income is a great idea.
Scheduling and time tracking are what drive me nuts at work. You get some manager who doesn't understand the process, and puts in no extra padding into the schedule for anything to go wrong. When something inevitably slips, they get furious and blame the people who are doing their best to get the project done. I remember one time, I told my boss I needed about 35 hours to complete a project. I got 17, busted my ass and got it done in 30 hrs, and still got yelled at.
Transitioning into a resource based economy would be more effective.
Work life Balance. I hadn't thought about it before this video, but not only does the phrase raise work to be on equal footing with the rest of life, it puts work before life. Why not life work balance? Exactly because we do live in a culture that has elevated work ahead of everything else.
Were-human (Guy): Once clothed, I became possessed. I fought against it as much as I could, but . . . I lost control. I had to go on a hunt. I had to hunt down a . . ."
Mulder: A human victim.
Were-human: No, a job! My crave wouldn't be satiated until I found steady work. So I walked straight into town. Rather tragically, I found something right away!
"Now this model comes with three-thousand gigabertz of pixel bits!"
It's perfect for me! I have no idea what I'm saying, and neither do my customers.
"As you can see it's quite rectangular."
By the end of the day, I was the manager!
Mulder: Putting aside the logistics of no social security number, no references,
Were-human: I don't need any of that stuff. You see, I possess the one Darwinian advantage humans have over other animals: the ability to BS my way through anything! I mean, it's better than camouflage.
Mulder: You wouldn't happen to be BSing me right now about all this, would you?
Were-human: I don't know! Maybe! I don't understand half the things I'm telling you.
Mulder: I find that . . . disconcerting.
Were-human: What's even more disturbing is what I did after work that first day . . . I was so exhausted, out of my mind, I committed a murder.
Mulder: Who did you kill?
Were-human: A cow.
"I'd like a double cheese-burger, and a large order of fries."
"Sir, if you're not in a car, you have to come inside to order."
"Why?!?"
Mulder: In your natural state, you're a vegetarian?
Were-human: No, an insectivore, but no one likes insects--not even other insects . . . Anyway, I took my kill, checked into a motel, and then I just . . . spent the rest of the day helplessly watching . . . porn.
I went back to work, but now that I had a job, all I could think about was how much I hated my job. . . . but I was too overcome with human fear to quit. How would I pay my bills? Without a job, I'd never get a loan and start a mortgage . . . Whatever that is. Already, I was terrified I wasn't saving enough for my retirement! What else was I supposed to do? If I haven't written my novel by now, I'm never gonna write it, ya know? I just couldn't go on . . . so I visited a witch doctor--psychiatrist, but the medicine he gave me didn't cure me--just clouded my thoughts. As a result, I did something insane.
Mulder: You attacked and killed someone.
Were-human: No, I got a puppy! I named him Dagoo! And I realized the only way to be happy as a human is to spend all of your time in the company of non-humans! . . . We played all through the night. . . . But the next day when I came home from work, well, I guess the maid must have accidentally let him out. I searched everywhere--all night long, but it was hopeless . . . 'cause life's hopeless--a few fleeting moments of happiness surrounded by crushing loss and grief. Why bother? ...and just when I had given up the search, I saw him.
Mulder: Dagoo!?!
Were-human: No! No, the man who had bit me, turned me into a human. Just catching sight of that son-of-a-bitch made me even more human . . . because I was filled with the one thing humans can understand: revenge. I got up and I stalked after him, and I just wanted to . . .
Mulder: strangle him and eat his flesh!
Were-human: Yes!
Mulder: Now we're gettin' somewhere.
Were-human: but just as I was about to do that, I saw him do the same thing to someone else. I've never seen such pointless brutality. . . I was so transfixed by the horror that I didn't notice the moon had come out! But having caught a glimpse of what human nature was capable of, I decided I wanted no more part of it! I decided to shed my clothes and return to the wild! . . . I fled the hotel, turned into a human the next morning, and went to work.
"Welcome to smartphones is us. How may I help you?"
Scully: I'm wondering if I can ask you some questions. I think maybe my phone isn't working right because guys don't send me pictures of their junk on it. I think I'd like ta take a picture of your's . . . Come on, I want to make you say cheese! . . . You're an animal! an animal!
Were-human: This feels good!
Scully: "Oh don't stop! Don't ...."
Mulder: Stop. That . . . did not happen.
Were-human: I know it's hard to believe, but . . . apparently, I'm terrific in the sack!
Mulder: You made that up.
Were-human: Oh. Alright. You got me. Ever since I became a human, I can't help but lie about my sex life, but that's the only untruthful bit of the whole story. So please! Will you kill me now? You don't believe me do you?
Mulder: I thought I was going to believe you, but it's all, it's just to. . . fantastic.
Were-human: It's not fantastic! It's tragic!
Mulder: No, I mean, it's just silly.
Were-human: That's my life you're talking about!
Mulder: It's my life, too. You and me, we're the same guy, we both want to believe in things that aren't real . . . or even possible.
Were-human: There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Mulder: I know that.
Were-human: Ah but did you know the first folio version reads: then I dreamt of an owl philosophy.
Mulder: So Shakespeare is not just calling Horatio an ignorant idiot, he's calling us all ignorant idiots?
Were-human: It's a comforting thought. Isn't it? Because if there's nothing more to life than what we already know, then there's nothing but worries, self-doubt, regret, and loneliness. Fox, man you have to put me out of my misery! I don't want to wake up tomorrow and have to go to work! What the Hell is this? You're the fuzz?
Mulder: I'm in town investigating the murders.
Were-human: And you think I'd do something like that? What kind of a monster do you think I am? You didn't want to help me! You just wanted to arrest me for something I didn't do! Who takes advantage of someone like that? A human! That's who. Human ratfic. I'm not delusional. I know what I am! I'm no monster! You're the monster! Jocose mister Mulder! [French accent] Run for your lives! There's a monster! (Points to Mulder) Run! Monster!
(Mulder takes a drink from his coat pocket.)
...
Mulder: Hey guy! We caught the killer.
Guy (Were-human): So?
Mulder: So for a while there, I thought maybe it was you.
Guy: Well, thanks. I guess.
Mulder: It means that I know now. You were telling the truth.
Guy: Sounds like you're still unsure.
Mulder: Well you have to admit. It's a . . . It's a little absurd.
Guy: A little bit absurd? It's a lot absurd. I mean, look at this thing! Who's genius idea was it to . . . tie a piece of cloth around your neck? It's waiting to strangle ya! Do you want a hat?
Mulder: No. What are you doing?
Guy: This is the time for my kind to go into hibernation. I'm hoping I won't turn into a human again during it. And maybe when I woke up again, I would have slept off this whole transformation thing.
Mulder: I didn't know that reptiles hibernated.
Guy Whoa! I'm not a reptile! That's racist!
Mulder: Oh Oh okay, okay. How long . . . do you hibernate for?
Guy: Well I never really did get the hang of human constructs of time. Let me see. ah lunar cycles, four of those for each season, starts, what . . . 10,000 years.
Mulder: That's . . . not possible.
Guy: There you go again! Not believing me!
Mulder: I want to believe.
Guy: I don't mean to get too personal, but this has been a real trying time for me. I've been through a lot, but just having someone like you to . . . look, what I'm trying to say is . . . I'm glad to have met you.
[they shake hands]
Mulder: likew . . . likewise :)
I think that this guy forgets that everyones hard work is what gives us the standard of living we have today. Work has become the focus of life because the people who actually work have to keep working to support the people that are not working. We have not reached a point where everyone can be lazy and there will still be enough food, shelter, and heat.
Very well put, clear thoughts!
When will people realize just a small handful of wealthy people control over half of our money? UBI is the idea that all of our hard work and resources belong to the entire country and not just a handful of people.
xvx4848 that's called communism it it will fail
Unless you consider 5% of the population of the US to be a "small handful", your numbers are incorrect.
+xvx4848 it doesnt work the way you think it does... im very certain of it
Where are you getting this 5% number? The top 0.1% of people in this country control over half of our wealth. If I was in a stadium filled with 10,000 people I would most certainly consider 10 of them to be a "small handful".
@xvx4848
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States
To be blunt, Taggart is cutting corners with his argument. Not all occupations are equally susceptible to automation. Similarly, not all occupations are entitled for UBI.
I have yet to listen, at school, but I am of the opinion that work keeps people occupied and out of trouble. What I hope is that the automation of our physical needs will cut commercialism and allow humans to focus on more wholesome jobs like art, child/elder care, and ecology.
Human beings and society need something to keep them occupied. Work gives society a reason to function. Not only that, if less people were to work, we wouldn't have the same quality of life.
Well taken points... THanks..!
In my opinion a universal income has the same major flaw as Socialism and Communism; human greed. We all harbor that uncontrollable emotion to want more than our neighbors. It is certain that a universal income will not be "universal" and back channels of laundered money will flow rampant. We need to solve humanity's biggest problem of personal greed and gain before UI will actually work. Great argument Big Think!
Wow! Yes, thank you for this awesome philosophical viewpoint Big Think! This "Total Work" condition explained by Josef Pieper is part of what bothered me about the whole aspect of "work". Work is only supposed to be one part of your life, an important part, but only one part. What else are you about when you aren't working? That mention of the centrality of work is another big part of it to me. It seemed like wherever I looked, whatever thing I was looking at was mostly governed by some aspect of work. Like if you go to a restaurant, the people there who serve you are working. While doing things and working are important, you cannot be enslaved to it, and it cannot suffocate the rest of your life. It always seemed incredibly stupid to me how when you have a job, it seems to dictate everything else that goes on in your life. You have a thing to do with your family? Better hope your job isn't in the way. You have a hobby you're passionate about and there's an event you want to attend? Same thing. You want to meet up with friends? Same thing. You're into music and want to play music and go to concerts? Same thing. We should be dictating our jobs and work, jobs and work should not be dictating our lives. That's not freedom. We choose where we want to work (in general, there's more to it than that obviously) and sometimes it doesn't feel like it's quite so voluntary.
So basically, while work is important and people should be helping out and giving back, it should be something that we genuinely want to do and something that we are passionate about. Beyond that, it's only one part of our life and it should not be central to the point where it's what everything revolves around.
Oh and I also just thought...I find it silly how people who realize that work should only be one part of their life and not the whole thing and who have other passions of theirs are often incorrectly characterized as being "lazy" or "slackers". That's just ridiculous. You can pour your heart and soul into your non-work passions and be just as good. That wouldn't be lazy at all.
my take, imho, yeah it makes perfect sense, we can be busy just for the sake of it, but be still. From the other perspective, when your income is strapped and you don't earn enough to even feed yourself, not because I'm lazy but because there are others who are better suited for jobs (despite all the things you do, training, education), ...........I look at this guy and say:" you haven't been in my shoes."
You just described my life. Everything I do these days seems to in some way revolve around work, and I don't even like my job.
But I have thought of the idea of what we would do instead. I suspect that in the not-too-distant future, AI will do practically everything for us, and I'm actually unsettled by the idea, because I can't imagine what people would do to fill their time. If I didn't have to work, I'm sure I'd eventually figure out some sort of a way to give my life purpose, but there would be a long period where I'd just be going insane from the feeling that I'm being unproductive.
There are so many interesting, beneficial and worthwhile ways to spend time that is not work. Do people really have a problem figuring it out?
yes, because we're in a system of total work whereby work is central to people's perception of reality. like he said in the video, life becomes subordinate to work, and we forget what else life is supposed to be about
Not being a philosopher, I hadn't heard of Josef Pieper and 'Total Work'. It seems this idea has immersed our society, even our religious faiths through philosophies such as the "Purpose-Driven Life", "We all were put here for a purpose". When discovering and implementing our purpose becomes the end-all, what happens when others get in the way of that purpose or become competitive in doing it themselves?
To others' points, though, it doesn't seem like we can just walk away from 'Total Work' without a replacement. Maybe I'm wrong that is human to have a guiding overarching philosophy, but it seems that people need that, whether it be family, community, religion, national identity, or other.
My suggestion is an ethos guided by a sense of inter-dependent community. There's a reason people fell in love with the movie Avatar, and I think it had less to do with the cheesy love story and fight scenes, then it did with the connected life the Avatarans lived.
They took errr jerbsss!!!
Conor'I get wobbly when fatigued' Mctapper Tuk uh tuhhh!
Derk ka derrrr!!!
Terrrrrkkkk errrrrrr jeerrrrbs!
Conor'I get wobbly when fatigued' Mctapper You realize the only solution now is a giant gay orgy righhhht???
+Conor'I get wobbly when fatigued' Mctapper I love this name, hilarious and btw he was just a bit wobbly come on..
I have never been a friend of the idea of everyone getting an amount of money he/she can survive with for absolutely nothing. Personally I have never had a problem with working 8 hours a day, there is nothing bad with it, really. In my opinion everyone should give a part back to the society so he earns to survive and live in it the way he/she wants it. I see the problem with overworking and I see the problem with work becoming more important than everything else but at the same time it would be a misconception to think that we could just not work or work way less than we do right now. The society and the state needs work from nearly everyone to grow and become stronger. It doesn't matter what job you do, if you are a lawyer, an engineer, a doctor, a manager or just the guy who cleans the toilets. Every single job has a meaning in the society, otherwise you couldn't earn money with it, right? And let's be honest here: who would clean the public toilets if you could survive without it easily? No one, I wouldn't and you wouldn't either.
I always think the best example of this is how we introduce ourselves and others. It’s always “this is Sally, she’s a networking Consultant”....really? Is that what Sally ‘IS’ ? Is that the essence of Sally all one needs to know? It’s pretty sick.
Another sign is that your job title is generally the label that is applied to you everywhere you go.
Awesome video 😇
Humans are not naturally altruistic, so giving people pay for nothing would be a major cultural obstacle, but once that is done then continuous education would help fill out the hours. Maybe advance fidget spinning for the less academic and differential calculus for the brainy. Or, just looking at clouds would be a good.
I haven't seen the first part of this but I love BABIESSSS!!! Real developing human children. With dreams! Not just RHETORIC WHOOPEE!!!
The fact that so many people truly don't know what to do with themselves without the grinding pressure of 40+ hour work weeks is depressing af.
Good points made, but...
Is it conceivable that our restlessness of the spirit comes from a sense of urgency to be productive as a result of our current economic model?
For example, I know that if I were to rest and simply focus on my leisure, eventually my funds would run out, and it would cause me to become homeless and starve.
Could it be that the environment and consequences of non-productivity have caused this restlessness in us all?
Funny thing is I always wanted to focus on work because I want money to actually live greatly. More like a necessity to get instrument to achieve the goal
is this really an argument? If there was no wotk, i would live exceptionally well. i would engage in community projects, grow food, cook food that takes hours, learn astronomy, study scripture, make live, etc. Essentially i eould do sll the things i am currently robbed of working teo jobs and paying 30% in taxes.
although a universal basic income to cover one's basic life necessities is a great idea, humans innately need a goal / purpose to strive for. we do that through our work. that being said, it should be noted that there are different types of work: one that serves purely as a means for providing/surviving (this one tends to leaves people stressed/unfulfilled), and another that serves a life's purpose (this one is done out of passion and contributes to one's vitality in life). unfortunately we do not all get to experience the latter.
it depends on the human. people like me would still work hard with a basic income but maybe there are extremely lazy people out there who need to get forced to work. the faster our progress the better our future. i never really worked for the money anyway. i work because i like to win and winning requires training.
It's not obsession. It's survival!
I guess this video will help me deal with my manager cutting my days down to four a week.
I think "overwork" might also be a concept that "total work" would naturally address. It goes back to your second condition of total work 1:18, where things like rest become subordinate to, and in service of, work. After all, if the goal of "total work" is to be as productive as possible, and overwork shows itself to make people less productive, then overwork would actually become an enemy of total work.
Proper rest and sleep can recover work stress. Not to worry too much about money. But take care of owns health will safe for the journey.
That's one of the best videos I have seen so far.
We'd be focusing on food acquisition if not for work...our experience is work, physical and emotional.
I am living in total work. My Parents don't want me to have a gf but rather just learning for collage all the time so that I can go to work. And the worst part is that I am not bad at school, that means I am abke to lift collage and have a social life but they don't get it...
UBI is a form of social security which depends on the performance of an economy... If the whole population of an economy tried to live like this it wouldn't make any sense and would therefore not work except for a select few...
We buy a car to go to work. We work for years to get a little bit of savings. Then our car breaks down and we use our savings to buy a new car to go to work.
What happened to the video you just posted? I clicked it in my notifications just now and it's gone. It was why religious people are healthier and happier or something along thoes lines. Did you get to much hate or was it a technical problem? Just curious.
Jim B we waged a comment war and the dislikes were twice the likes so...
The success of his philosophy depends on the value-system of the individuals and the society receiving the handout. The negative income tax is a more nuanced approach to UBI that, I think, provides better incentives for all sides.
I've been living on a pension for 11 years. It's enough to cover the rent, food and a bit extra. When I need a bit more, I get a temp job or do some online teaching; otherwise my time is my own. Welcome to the UBI lifestyle. We have the benefit of an enormous amount of social capital. Ask: what could Elon Musk have accomplished if he had been born in the Stone Age? Not much. The difference between that and what he has accomplished today is the accumulated social capital that we all inherit. There is a base level: free education K-12, public health, universal health-care (here in Canada; sorry about you dudes in the US). The EU has declared that Internet access is a human right. Probably a cell-phone every few years as well. Food, shelter, clothing (and not shelter as in dormitories for homeless people, but proper homes, offering privacy and security. They could be like those micro-apartments in Hong Kong, say. The base standard of living that I enjoy is accessible to everyone in the rich countries. So what happens if everyone is living, like me, on a guaranteed income? We are free. To veg out in front of the TV, if that's the extent of our ambition. But most people want to be productively occupied in one way or another, according to our particular wishes and talents. We can write poetry, make art, music, start TH-cam channels, set up online businesses. We can pursue a higher education, become doctors or engineers -- for the love and fulfillment; the money is incidental. The point is not to be free of work entirely - that would be a very dull existence - but to be free from having to do work we don't like just for money. OK, I do, to top up my income, but just in short spurts. I work in call centres, where people drift in and out, like a white-collar McDonalds. It seems like an idyllic life to me. I'm at the poverty line, yet live better than probably 90% of the world. Everybody gets money from the government, deposited straight into their bank accounts. At tax time, those who don't need it pay it back, and those who make say UBIx10 or more subsidize those who do need it. If you are a salaried worker, part or all would be deducted from your paycheck. It would unleash the creative energies of society. Together with AI taking over a lot of jobs, it would free us from drudgery, lead to healthier people, children, families, reduce crime and violence.
An inspirational poem for me is Gray's elegy, contemplating a country churchyard where simple country-folk lay buried - perhaps a "mute inglorious Milton". It ends with its most famous line: "Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Let my people go - and you will be astonished what we can achieve.
Interesting, I just wonder if he would feel the same if he was on the operating table undergoing a 10hr operation and the surgical team all of a sudden decided a game of golf was in order. I think the discussion has to come but it will happen gradually as more and more jobs are eliminated by mechanisation.
How is that question relevant?
Robots that aren't paying ANY taxes but do make it more difficult to bargain for adequate wages and health care. Last time I looked robots don't get cancer or pregnant or OHSA compliance or matching social security wages (or any wages at all) and they don't pay taxes. So long as this is not addressed, stupid debates like these will go on forever.
“We’re approaching a life of total work”
Me watching this after working an 18 hour day... I feel that
All these UBI claims seem to forget that each country does not live on an island and competition is a thing. If one country has a population working 20 hours a week and the other works 40 hours a week the other will gain twice the wealth and will be able to afford twice to militarily to take over the lazy 20 hour people. This is obviously over simplified and can be changed with AI and automation, but for the time being that is how the world works...
Aggressive advertising creates artificial needs, time and precious resources are spent to fill this artificial demand. While you work hard so you can afford all this stuff. This cycle needs to stop, it's wasteful, inefficient and unsustainable, not to mention unhealthy.
I think it's a good idea. But we should keep in mind, if we lose one obsession we make room for a new one, a new thing to worry about.
let's obsess about art and entertainment instead maybe
Also there is travel- so much to explore on and around world. There will always be some form of work...
There's an aspect of that that's called "Parkinson's Law" (which I prefer to call "Parkinson's Effect"), where we make more work to fill up the time which we create for it.
An example of that is the bike-shed analogy. A nuclear plant has to adopt a new innovation that makes the nuclear plant better. Also, they need to paint the bike shed. They take an hour for this meeting, but it turns out that the innovation is a no-brainer. But rather than leave early, the people at the meeting become obsessed with a debate over the color of the bikeshed, to the point that the bikeshed isn't getting painted at all and the issue has been fielded for next week.
Or worse, the bike shed came first and the question about the innovation got pushed to next week because there was no more time to discuss it.
If humans don't have individual and social responsibility, then degeneration occurs. If you give someone enough money to pay for their housing and food, do you really think they're going to graft their asses off and be a productive member of society? **** no. UBI diminishes the individual and the society. It is yet another way in which the government will be able to control you and everything you do.
Yet if we make it about inner peace, enlightenment, the worries would finally cease. ;)
We should work to live, not live to work...
very nice, how do we implement that world in which work is not the main goal of our lives?
work is good. it is not governing us, if it is true work. balanced individuals govern the work.
most of us are not doing "work," we are have our time occupied. that is why we call our profession an "occupation." we occupy our time with things that we would rather not be doing. "work" is something that one does that enriches one's life and the lives of those around us.
the problem we really face is that we fail to recognize much of the occupations are indeed enriching. you really can only lay around a smoke pot and watch TV for so long, before you are so bored that you cause a problem for yourself - thus forcing you to have to work on something.
why think of your occupation as a droll tedium. you would be much happier if you found a way to enjoy your work. any, even the most tedious and seemingly meaningless action, can be imbued with a profound experiential quality. an occupation can also be "work." if only the person chooses to do so.
enjoy your work.
the answer for all the UBI proponents and those seeking UBI for themselves, (like healthy welfare recipients,) is indeed "work." their lives and for the rest of us will be much better if work is required. after all, we need a lot of people to pick up the trash, clean the streets, do these very important, and valuable acts.
enjoy your work.... only you yourself can do this.,
Brilliant
This needs to happen soon because we are losing jobs constantly to either cheaper labour or automation
I share almost share everything involving ubi,
Automation can make this possible for all of us. I like how this gentleman looks at the human condition involved with work
I would also ask, does universal income and other like social programs just shift the chief benefactors of manorialism from the corporation to the state? Work as we know it operates in a closes, ultimately zero sum system. It's all about the company town. The question is who runs the town, benefits the most and controls things? This just shifts the controller, it doesn't end the company town.
I would rebut, if I could. I have two issues preventing me, first; your thought echoed my own, second; I already have trouble distinguishing where the corporation's pocket ends and the politician's hand begins.
The obsession with work is like a starvation mentality - the constant focus to garner that which one believes they are deprived (money/wealth/resources).
Technology displacing workers is greater in this time than previously in human history. UBI is thought to be a safety net to those who are displaced and will not be able to adjust because there will be no dotted-line work (ex: livery drivers to cab drivers vs middle management being replaced by AI). It's either provide UBI or societal collapse from the populace which is displaced and can't garner enough resources to survive, pushing them into extreme actions (see first paragraph).
For any UBI or Star Trek like society where money is no longer necessary requires not just having enough resources to provide for the society's basic needs, but also a shift in attitude toward appreciating more than the ephemeral. Until there is no longer an emphasis of buying the next iPhone even though one owns the latest iPhone in all things there will not be a transition from the starvation mentality.
Work is synonymous with purpose
What would I do with my free time in a post-UBI world? Enjoy it, firstly. Then I'd build my own business with the money left over and do what I want to be doing. I think plenty of people would carry on working anyway. The benefit is that you'll never be at work simply because you have to. It's no great loss to finally have a secure life where you can do what you want, I'd say.
amen
UBI is a great idea.
However, what really annoys me is that the idea is often hijacked by people who simply don't want to work, rather than them understanding that in the near future there won't be enough jobs to go around due to automation and over population.
If and when this does happen. I think people will (and should) still frown upon those that choose to sit on their arse rather than contribute back into society at some level.
I absolutely abhor the idea of work just for the sake of work, as an ideal and means of self worth. Humans are so enamored with "getting stuff done" that they dont make time to just exist and enjoy the time we have left. I don't want to work to make money and get a paycheck. We should be able to step back and look for solutions while contributing to common causes for good. The basics of food, water, shelter, clothing and sleep are what really matter.
Absolutely necessary, unless you think forced luxury is more important than freedom/peace (which is not even sustainable atm).
And it will remove an extremely big incentive for greed, corruption, crime, unethical business decisions, etc. which is causing almost all of our societal problems.
"And it will remove an extremely big incentive for" being human basically. Not really; it would negate some of the more deleterious effects, tho
don't run away, face your void, people!
It's a little disappointing that he didn't offer an idea of how the crisis of what to do with the abundant surplus time available in the event of UBI etc, would be solved. In spite of all the Utopian things that have been said It's hard to imaging that people would use this time to do all those elevated inspiring things like writing poetry or engaging with philosophy, just look at what your average shmo does with their spare time on public transport.
It all sounds great, but if the few that are working pay the many that don't, where is the incentive to work? Already, in my area, no one can find help, because it seems no one wants to work ever since the emergency monthly payments started. Empty shelves and rising debt.
Every generation has to deal with change. My paternal grandfather and grandmother were born in 1860, my parents in 1895/1901. Farmers, housewives, coal miner. Three of my four grandparents were dead before I was born. The Dad's father in 87 when I was a baby. I was born at home, my mother was 44, we were poor. I finished high school and spent my working life doing work my parents could begin to understand... mostly in avionics and in computers at IBM '68-99. I got nothing from my parents after 18. No, inheritance, no wedding gift. 0. That's my story, I needed to work so I could retire which I did at 54. My work was interesting, challenging and I was good at it but I like not working better. So I'm 76 now. If you think Universal Basic Income is what's needed.... go for it. I'll be fine but it wouldn't have worked in my era or my parents' or my grandparent's eras. Good Luck.... I'm retired.
Theirs didn't have robotic production online. Maybe your employers would have had to offer better wages than you ever got to attract workers to cooperate in their enterprise or maybe they would have to incentivize by offering significant benefits.
Yes, and it will also lead to a phasing out of our cultural obsession with consumer goods. To be clear, consumer goods are GOOD, but the obsession with accumulating them in ever increasing amounts is BAD.
I have been a supporter of universal basic income for many years and can only hope that maybe just maybe in my lifetime and for my daughter in her lifetime that we will see society evolve as we have as a species and take from the super rich people and companies to spread the wealth. Automated robot factories...they save money..people lose jobs...so uber tax the companies and corporations and rich to spread a decent lives for those of us who work really hard for the meager rations of middle to lower class. We as blue and lower white collar workers are the majority of the ones buying the products, using the products. Vote universal income anywhere you can, otherwise our future will not be as shiny and bright as the light in our childrens eyes.
What if instead of UBI we use a system where all the profits derived from labor were provided to the person conducting the labor?
get this guy some eye drops!