Oddbean new post about | logout
▲ ▼
mister_monster | 3 months ago (raw) | root | parent | reply | flag 
 So, how does a system provide for the basic needs of everybody? Who produces these basic needs? And then, if your basic needs are met such that you don't have to do anything for them, what do you do to get your extra? Produce someone else's basic needs and get a profit from that? So who pays that profit if not the guy who's basic needs are met?

Do you see how this concept doesn't hold water?
▲ ▼
TheOneWithAReallyLongName | 3 months ago (raw) | root | parent | reply | flag 
 I don't think this seems that complicated. Imagine the same amount of work gets done, but we direct efforts towards ensuring basic needs are met first. Hell, say we lose a quarter of the work to inefficiencies and time off for workers. Stop producing most absurdly high end luxury items that 99.9% of society can't enjoy, cut back on producing frivolous shit nobody needs, and accept that having your every conceivable whim catered to for a price may not be feasible, but you'll live in quality conditions. I'm not saying it's the right call, but it's not that complicated. That's not the hard part. The hard part is running an administration for an entire country's economy and keeping the corruption out at that scale. It creates centralized points of failure, which are highly attractive to corrupt individuals.