Personal creativity and a resource-based economy
OK, so y'all know I'm into making stuff. lots of types of different stuff. I've also been reading about resource-based economy
and how it differs from the current economy. (Batches of explanatory links here.)
According to The Venus Project and The Zeitgeist Movement, a resource-based economy would be a lot like the later versions of Star Trek -- you don't so much buy necessities as you accept their issuance. Sort of honor-based, you don't take more than you need, and since a lot of the current TYPES of jobs are not needed in that system, people have a lot more free time for creative pursuits, family time, etc. It is pointed out that some jobs will NEED to be done by humans; also that many humans will still WANT to work at something. Heinlein, of course, wrote a book or two on the idea; now if I could remember the title(s)....
Sort of utopian. By the theory, this would also do away with theft and many other sorts of crime as they are (often) scarcity-motivated. (IMO, there will always be bullies who will take something just because they can, temper-fueled fights, and murders. We're human, after all.)
Services like entertainment, massage, spa treatments, custom fashion design, nursing (heck, medical in general), and many others will continue to be in demand and will likely see an upswing as *people don't have to worry about making a living from their art or paying for the service* as their living needs would be taken care of. Things like "my" jewelry making supplies and the ingredients for the lip butters would probably be stored in a central location for all interested to use -- and that's OK until somebody uses the last of something just before someone ELSE wants to use it.
My question is, with all this idea sounding good and all, where do my unimportant-in-the-grand-scheme priorities come in? Here are a couple of possible issues I can see without much thought:
*Well, there's a big enough stockpile of hand lotion and lip balm in the warehouse, so no, you can't get materials to make more for another 6 months.
*OK, you've done 15 massages this week, but there's no one in the approved travel range available to work on YOU.
*Oh, you dropped the insulin bottle and it broke? It'll take at least three days to get a replacement, so don't eat anything in the meantime.
*You have a client for whom this rare and (formerly) costly essential oil would be beneficial? Sorry, yes, there's a gallon or so stockpiled, but that's a reserve -- you can't get it for them since the computers decided it wasn't cost/effort effective to keep making it.
*Your child/spouse/parent has this horrid condition and needs treatment -- but the hospitals/treatment centers are so backlogged they'll be dead before it's their turn. (That happens nowadays too, from what I've seen and heard -- scarcity of money/insurance in the USA, scarcity of services/time other places.)
*You can't get any more fabric -- you've taken enough to clothe 6 families for two years each in the last 4 months! (But that's exactly what do with it -- make clothes for others!)
* (Knock on the door) We're here to take the (item) back to the depot -- yes, you just finished with it for the night and you'll be picking it up again in the morning, but you can't keep it overnight; that's hoarding.
People would go on vacations and check out cameras from the central supply depot, then hand them back in -- but would we be issued our own computers to keep in quarters for our work/entertainment/etc., or have to pick those up for a certain timeframe? (In this case, I'm thinking everyone would be issued a laptop/tablet/something to keep. Repairs as needed and replacement loaner, of course.)
If I'm wrong about the misgivings, someone explain it to me better -- I want to believe we could all do better by each other and by the earth!
and how it differs from the current economy. (Batches of explanatory links here.)
According to The Venus Project and The Zeitgeist Movement, a resource-based economy would be a lot like the later versions of Star Trek -- you don't so much buy necessities as you accept their issuance. Sort of honor-based, you don't take more than you need, and since a lot of the current TYPES of jobs are not needed in that system, people have a lot more free time for creative pursuits, family time, etc. It is pointed out that some jobs will NEED to be done by humans; also that many humans will still WANT to work at something. Heinlein, of course, wrote a book or two on the idea; now if I could remember the title(s)....
Sort of utopian. By the theory, this would also do away with theft and many other sorts of crime as they are (often) scarcity-motivated. (IMO, there will always be bullies who will take something just because they can, temper-fueled fights, and murders. We're human, after all.)
Services like entertainment, massage, spa treatments, custom fashion design, nursing (heck, medical in general), and many others will continue to be in demand and will likely see an upswing as *people don't have to worry about making a living from their art or paying for the service* as their living needs would be taken care of. Things like "my" jewelry making supplies and the ingredients for the lip butters would probably be stored in a central location for all interested to use -- and that's OK until somebody uses the last of something just before someone ELSE wants to use it.
My question is, with all this idea sounding good and all, where do my unimportant-in-the-grand-scheme priorities come in? Here are a couple of possible issues I can see without much thought:
*Well, there's a big enough stockpile of hand lotion and lip balm in the warehouse, so no, you can't get materials to make more for another 6 months.
*OK, you've done 15 massages this week, but there's no one in the approved travel range available to work on YOU.
*Oh, you dropped the insulin bottle and it broke? It'll take at least three days to get a replacement, so don't eat anything in the meantime.
*You have a client for whom this rare and (formerly) costly essential oil would be beneficial? Sorry, yes, there's a gallon or so stockpiled, but that's a reserve -- you can't get it for them since the computers decided it wasn't cost/effort effective to keep making it.
*Your child/spouse/parent has this horrid condition and needs treatment -- but the hospitals/treatment centers are so backlogged they'll be dead before it's their turn. (That happens nowadays too, from what I've seen and heard -- scarcity of money/insurance in the USA, scarcity of services/time other places.)
*You can't get any more fabric -- you've taken enough to clothe 6 families for two years each in the last 4 months! (But that's exactly what do with it -- make clothes for others!)
* (Knock on the door) We're here to take the (item) back to the depot -- yes, you just finished with it for the night and you'll be picking it up again in the morning, but you can't keep it overnight; that's hoarding.
People would go on vacations and check out cameras from the central supply depot, then hand them back in -- but would we be issued our own computers to keep in quarters for our work/entertainment/etc., or have to pick those up for a certain timeframe? (In this case, I'm thinking everyone would be issued a laptop/tablet/something to keep. Repairs as needed and replacement loaner, of course.)
If I'm wrong about the misgivings, someone explain it to me better -- I want to believe we could all do better by each other and by the earth!