Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Again, I think redesigning the economy to allow people to explore the human experience and create all forms of art without the need to make a living or be a crowd-pleaser is an extraordinarily noble goal.



Are we talking about a Star-Trek era future, once we've achieved something akin to full automation? Or do you think that this is something that is worth pursuing in the short term? Specifically, I'm curious as to who keeps the lights on in this new economy, and why they are working when work is unnecessary.


Eh, I don't think we need full automation. There are plenty of superfluous jobs today and the number of people to "keep the lights" on is probably 5% of the population or less.


Currently ~60% of the adult population is employed. How do you knock that down to 5%, while taxing that 5% enough to support the other 95%, without taxing so much that working isn't worth the effort? It sounds like you're advocating for a planned economy with 5% participation, which seems odd given that planned economies haven't worked in the past with 10X the workforce.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: