The idea of a guaranteed basic income, also referred to as unconditional or universal basic income, is starting to gain traction in many parts of the world, both in developed and developing nations. Its actually a very simple idea: Everyone in society receives a single basic income to provide for a comfortable living whether they choose to work or not..... .....looking ahead to the future, we may have little choice but to implement it. Given the ever-increasing concentration of wealth and the frightening prospect of technological unemployment, it will be required to prevent complete social and economic collapse. Its not a question of if, but how soon. ---------- We are now entering the beginning of an era in which technology has started to destroy employment faster than it creates it. The advance of information technology, artificial intelligence and robotics will eventually reduce the demand for all forms of human labor, including those dependent on human skills like empathy and creativity. Eventually 3D printing and desktop manufacturing will cut out most of the work between inventors and consumers, says Hughes. Alongside growing technological unemployment, we will also be living much longer, and will need to figure out an equitable solution to the growing ratio of retirees to workers and tax-payers. Basic income is the logical re-negotiation of the social contract to ensure that we dont spiral into widespread poverty and inequality. --------- Looking further ahead to the future, the prospect of a jobless economy certainly seems daunting. But if we can successfully manage it and put our machines to work, we could enter into an unprecedented era of material abundance while dramatically extending our leisure time. Rather than be tied to menial and demeaning work, wed be free to engage in activities that truly interest us. It is very recent in human history that we learned to be motivated to work for pay, and were convinced that those who didnt work for pay should feel shame about it, he says. For women that transition only occurred in the last two generations. And there have always been aristocrats who found motivation to get out of bed in seeking prestige or power or simply the intrinsic rewards of the activity, like scientific discovery. It will certainly require at least a generation to transition from a psychological and cultural assumption that self-worth requires work for pay to a society where we find self-worth in voluntary activities. But some of us are already there. io9/how-universal-basic-income-will-save-us-from-the-robot-1653303459?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:05:34 +0000