Because contributing in a utopia means living the shared experience by not hurting others.
A human system short of severe forced genetic manipulation will always require a visible way of showing that you’ve contributed.
That could mean making art all day. That could mean saying Hi to Grandma. It could mean getting a basic stipend for not being a criminal who hurts others.
Regardless, there will be a way to tell you who’s done more and who hasn’t. It doesn’t have to be money. It can be social credit ala China or more likely money just like it is now. That person WILL be selected to do something before the person in the basement doing nothing but synth-heroin. There will be a way to show to others around you that you are verifiably more deserving of something than another person is just through that fact that we live on a planet, solar system, or galaxy with finite resources and more importantly, finite time, and you’ve contributed unselfishly.
And by implementing such a system, you take from everyone. By tracking it, you cheapen it. You turn creativity towards making worthless kitche, you turn true moments of connection with Grandma into a chore to justify your own existence.
The solar system and beyond are finite, but not on a human scale. Even if we figured out cheap at-home immortality tomorrow, we’d never scratch the limits
Humans don’t breed infinitely. Already we’re coming up on that limit - the drive isn’t there anymore. We’re falling below replacement levels, partially because we’ve poisoned ourselves (and planet), but also just through lack of desire. It’s hardwired into mammals, if not all Earth life… We limit ourselves at a certain point
If you can’t see a future where you can just live without an accounting sheet justifying your existence, look to the past. They used money - not like us though
Because contributing in a utopia means living the shared experience by not hurting others.
A human system short of severe forced genetic manipulation will always require a visible way of showing that you’ve contributed.
That could mean making art all day. That could mean saying Hi to Grandma. It could mean getting a basic stipend for not being a criminal who hurts others.
Regardless, there will be a way to tell you who’s done more and who hasn’t. It doesn’t have to be money. It can be social credit ala China or more likely money just like it is now. That person WILL be selected to do something before the person in the basement doing nothing but synth-heroin. There will be a way to show to others around you that you are verifiably more deserving of something than another person is just through that fact that we live on a planet, solar system, or galaxy with finite resources and more importantly, finite time, and you’ve contributed unselfishly.
And by implementing such a system, you take from everyone. By tracking it, you cheapen it. You turn creativity towards making worthless kitche, you turn true moments of connection with Grandma into a chore to justify your own existence.
The solar system and beyond are finite, but not on a human scale. Even if we figured out cheap at-home immortality tomorrow, we’d never scratch the limits
Humans don’t breed infinitely. Already we’re coming up on that limit - the drive isn’t there anymore. We’re falling below replacement levels, partially because we’ve poisoned ourselves (and planet), but also just through lack of desire. It’s hardwired into mammals, if not all Earth life… We limit ourselves at a certain point
If you can’t see a future where you can just live without an accounting sheet justifying your existence, look to the past. They used money - not like us though