20th July 2015, 7:41 PM
I believe you're talking about post-scarcity. I don't think it's as close as some hope, but I do think it's the future, so long as the rich don't buy up every bit of technology that'll lead to it and hoard it for themselves.
At some point, we'll have the technical ability to have automation provide all our food, shelter, and "other". When all the manual labor is replaced by shiny chrome, the only reason for money to exist will be to buy things like land which will always be scarce. At that time, the "rich" won't be able to justify their own existence any more, but I fear they'll fight tooth and nail to keep their positions.
At some point, we'll have the technical ability to have automation provide all our food, shelter, and "other". When all the manual labor is replaced by shiny chrome, the only reason for money to exist will be to buy things like land which will always be scarce. At that time, the "rich" won't be able to justify their own existence any more, but I fear they'll fight tooth and nail to keep their positions.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)