View source for Post-scarcity/The means for a post-scarcity society

;Do we really have the resources for this kind of society?

Civilisation boils down to four fundamentals: [[Fundamental_resources#Material|material]], [[Fundamental_resources#Energy|energy]], [[Fundamental_resources#Information|information]] and [[Fundamental_resources#Machine intelligence|intelligence]] – none of which are in short supply. It is the current inefficient methods of use (and re-use) and perceived economic restrictions that make it appear that there are significant limitations to these resources.

Specifically, using currently existing technology...
* We can provide abundant clean [[Water|water]] for everyone on Earth. 
* We can produce enough [[Food|food]] to feed at least 80 billion people without harming the environment
* We can meet our [[Energy|energy]] needs at least ten times over using clean, renewable energy
* We can build [[Construction|cheap, high-quality houses]] in a day or two, providing shelter for the billion people currently living in slums
* We can build technology of any complexity from free [[List of open-source hardware|open-source designs]] and [[Virtual designs into physical objects|digitally fabricate]] them for the price of [[Fundamental_resources#Material|raw materials]]. (And these raw materials are themselves extremely abundant.) With every year that goes by, the methods of fabrication become more decentralized (see: [[Virtual designs into physical objects/Fab Labs|Fab Labs]]) and the open-source designs become better, making this a more attractive option.
* We can spread cheap, mobile [[Internet access]] to everyone on Earth, allowing them to connect to the world's informational and educational resources. Through [[open collaborative design|open collaboration]], this can network vast amounts of [[Fundamental resources/Human intelligence|human intelligence]], which can greatly accelerate scientific and technological progress.
* We can make free [[Education|educational materials]] available on the Internet, providing free education of unprecedented quality to everyone on Earth
* We can organize the World's [[Medicine|medical knowledge]], so that people have access to the highest-quality medical information and advice at all times.

How do we create an infrastructure advanced enough to provide all of this? See the [[open collaborative design]] and [[advanced automation]] pages.