Difference between revisions of "Post-scarcity/The means for a post-scarcity society"

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(New page: ;Do we really have the resources for this kind of society? :Civilisation boils down to four fundamentals: material, [[Fundamental_resources#Energy|energ...)
 
 
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;Do we really have the resources for this kind of society?
 
;Do we really have the resources for this kind of society?
  
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: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.
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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.
  
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:See the [[fundamental resources]] page for more information on resource availability.
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Specifically, using currently existing technology...
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* We can provide abundant clean [[Water|water]] for everyone on Earth.
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* We can produce enough [[Food|food]] to feed at least 80 billion people without harming the environment
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* We can meet our [[Energy|energy]] needs at least ten times over using clean, renewable energy
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* We can build [[Construction|cheap, high-quality houses]] in a day or two, providing shelter for the billion people currently living in slums
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* 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.
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* 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.
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* We can make free [[Education|educational materials]] available on the Internet, providing free education of unprecedented quality to everyone on Earth
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* 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.
  
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;How do we design machinery advanced enough to give us all of this?
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How do we create an infrastructure advanced enough to provide all of this? See the [[open collaborative design]] and [[advanced automation]] pages.
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:See the [[open design]] and [[Advanced closed-loop automation|closed-loop automation]] pages.
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== What does this mean for people and society? ==
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It means all worthy projects that should happen, can happen - the resource will be available if there are the people to make it happen. It will not only provide everyone with the basic necessities for a decent life but give maximum opportunity for people and societies to live and prosper how they might like to.
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This means different things to different people. For some it enables a life enhanced by advanced technology, able to do new things they have never been able to before, and for others it means almost the exact opposite - allowing them to lead a more basic rural life perhaps with a smallholding, more in touch with nature and older ways of living. But they can they can do this without worrying about a bad year in terms of yield from the land or medical care because of the advanced infrastructure in the background that they can call upon if required.
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It means we can have enough time to think about the really important things and do them properly.
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People will not have to suffer drudgery and what amounts to wage slavery during the best years of their lives. Unfortunately a large proportion of people today in both white and blue collar jobs would really rather be doing something else than the jobs they are employed to do. They feel perhaps that what they are doing is not directly relevant to their lives or is not particularly interesting and feel they are simply a cog with little control in a larger machine. Currently they have to do it to afford food, shelter and goods. A post-scarcity society enables them to have the time and space to work on things that are important to them, and to learn the skills needed to reach their goals and have room to be more creative.
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One scarce resource today for people is time. In a post-scarce culture, not having to spend the best part of the day working for a living also frees people up to spend more time with each other - something that is vital for a proper community. Both for friendship and mentoring the next generation.
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However some people feel that increasing automation is a threat. A threat to their livelihoods, a threat to humanity's pride even. The reality is that automation is likely to provide in scenarios where people would prefer not to do that job. It leaves people free to be creative and industrious in activities that they want to be part of and allows for greater variety than the average working life offers today. [[Open collaborative design|Open design]] will enable people to be involved in the creation or customisation of the goods they want in a way not seen before and reverses the trend of people simply being passive consumers. Creativity is something that can give huge satisfaction to people but if not fulfilled can cause great frustration.
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==See also==
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*[[Scarcity]]
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==External links==
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===Wikipedia===
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_scarcity Post scarcity]
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy Gift economy]
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==More post-scarcity thinking==
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacque_Fresco Jacque Fresco] - [http://www.thevenusproject.com ''The Venus Project''] (and [http://www.futurebydesignthemovie.com ''Future by Design''] which is a documentary film about Jacque)
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller Buckminster Fuller] - "It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a 'higher standard of living than any have ever known.' It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness is unnecessary and henceforth unrationalizable as mandated by survival." [http://www.bfi.org bfi.org]
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Eric_Drexler Eric Drexler] - Author of ''[http://www.e-drexler.com/d/06/00/EOC/EOC_Table_of_Contents.html Engines of Creation]'' and prophet of molecular nanotechnology. He describes [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_assembler molecular assemblers] as "engines of abundance
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCarthy_%28computer_scientist%29 John McCarthy] - Prominent computer scientist. He has some interesting information on his website about the [http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress sustainability of human progress].
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Brain Marshall Brain] - the 'Australia project' in the story of ''[http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm Manna]''
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Latest revision as of 14:28, 16 December 2012

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

Civilisation boils down to four fundamentals: material, energy, information and 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 for everyone on Earth.
  • We can produce enough food to feed at least 80 billion people without harming the environment
  • We can meet our energy needs at least ten times over using clean, renewable energy
  • We can build 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 open-source designs and digitally fabricate them for the price of raw materials. (And these raw materials are themselves extremely abundant.) With every year that goes by, the methods of fabrication become more decentralized (see: 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 collaboration, this can network vast amounts of human intelligence, which can greatly accelerate scientific and technological progress.
  • We can make free educational materials available on the Internet, providing free education of unprecedented quality to everyone on Earth
  • We can organize the World's 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.

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