The root cause of this is pretty much entirely greed.
Greed in the form of housing policies where that is used as a tool for investment, rather than an investment in the community.
Greed in the form of a missing integration in to society and support for all who are in it to at least a basic level of guarantee. (Popular example, Star Trek utopia)
Greed in the form of profits being squeezed upward rather than shared as prosperity for all.
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If everyone had their own, quality (private, outside noises/smells/etc excluded by good design and build quality), living spaces nearer to each other that would be far better for the design of our cities and the environment.
If everyone had a useful, non-broken-window, job and place where they added value to society, that would be better for everyone.
If everyone needed to expend less and less of their day working as things got more efficient, we would have the time to actually exist as humans / intelligent emotional beings among Family, Friends, and those we don't yet know.
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I really believe that if people were treated like people, and had the time to be better people, much of our social ills would sort out sooner rather than later.
I’m guessing you’ve never actually been lonely. I am not lonely because of greed.
I am lonely because my friends have all married and moved away to start families.
I am lonely because I have always been socially awkward and being in my mid 30s with less time and energy than ever the prospect of trying to make new friends is a terrifying maze. I go to meetups and other social events and put myself out ther but connecting with people I don’t already know on anything more than a superficial level has proven impossible.
I wonder how you came to the conclusion that you're socially awkward, because in my experience people behave so differently depending on context that I would bet you that there's a crowd where you would feel right at home.
It's probably not the stereotypical club party crowd, but that's OK.
None of my friends met their long-term partner in a bar or club. All of them were doing things as a hobby and then accidentally met someone or got introduced by a common friend.
Two of my friends met their girlfriend (now wife) through World of Warcraft. Turns out people bring their curious sisters with them to the guild meeting, so even if the guild is all guys, you might meet a girl at the meetup. And if you're into Wow, you will surely be a lot more confident connecting with people on a Wow event.
The trick is not to try learning to meet people like in cliché movies. The trick is to figure out where to go so that you can have fun and meet people accidentally.
I live in New Zealand and most of what you say already exists. Yet we still have all the normal social ills. So I think that's proof you're wrong.
> If everyone needed to expend less and less of their day working as things got more efficient
We have that! Get an unskilled part time job and the government will give you a bit extra to pay the rent, and even more to support your children, etc. They'll also actively help you find work if you're unemployed. To remain unemployed here, you have to really put an effort in if you're not disabled.
Personally, I have fairly high value skills and only use them part time, so I'm living your utopia. Most people with high earning capacity choose to earn more though.
So the big problem for you is how do you limit the efforts of ambitious people to enforce this easy life on them?
Greed in the form of housing policies where that is used as a tool for investment, rather than an investment in the community.
Greed in the form of a missing integration in to society and support for all who are in it to at least a basic level of guarantee. (Popular example, Star Trek utopia)
Greed in the form of profits being squeezed upward rather than shared as prosperity for all.
-
If everyone had their own, quality (private, outside noises/smells/etc excluded by good design and build quality), living spaces nearer to each other that would be far better for the design of our cities and the environment.
If everyone had a useful, non-broken-window, job and place where they added value to society, that would be better for everyone.
If everyone needed to expend less and less of their day working as things got more efficient, we would have the time to actually exist as humans / intelligent emotional beings among Family, Friends, and those we don't yet know.
-
I really believe that if people were treated like people, and had the time to be better people, much of our social ills would sort out sooner rather than later.