Let’s abolish unemployment

ABOLISH UNEMPLOYMENT .001Copiosis Economies have no unemployment. Let us rephrase that: Copiosis Economies have full employment. Anyone who has a desire to earn money can do whatever they want to, that produces a Net Benefit* to others, and be paid for it.  They don’t need to come to an agreement with anyone else before working!  Everyone is working for themselves or, to put it another way, everyone is self-employed.

In a Traditional Economy, businesses compete against one another. Because payment is not based upon results, cutting corners and cheating are commonplace. If harm is done, a lawsuit is required in order to determine compensation. In a Copiosis Economy, everyone works with other people, cooperatively, to produce Net Benefit for others.  One may work in some sort of organization or completely alone.  But if the cooperation of others is necessary; being cooperative, reliable, honest, and doing whatever it takes to maximize benefit to others and minimize harm will get everyone paid the most for their effort.

This means that current job descriptions may change at the time of a transition to a Copiosis Economy.  For example, we now have such occupations as cashier, bookkeeper, accountant, tax collector, bank director, stock broker, insurance salesman, and others that are involved in some way with our current economy.  When our money is no longer transferable from one person to another and exists only in computer accounts, such occupations will be pointless.  There will be no insurance or banking industries.  There will be no stock market.  There will be no tax collectors (or taxes).

In a Traditional Economy the ending of an industry would mean that many people would be out of work, unemployed.  But in a Copiosis Economy, such an event would mean that many people would be freed to contribute in other ways.  Those who work in banking, insurance, and stock markets are intelligent and capable people.  Their skills, abilities, and knowledge are not limited to their current occupations.  Accountants, bookkeepers, and cashiers are careful, meticulous people who can use those talents in many other fields.

So let’s say you are working in one of these jobs that will cease to exist at the transition.  What do you do?  How can you earn money?

First, you should not panic.  Your needs will be met because other people will be paid for the Net Benefit inherent in meeting your needs.  Your children will be educated.  Your family will be provided with healthy food, appropriate clothing & housing, as well as medical care; all without you or your loved ones being required to pay a single penny. Why? Because the Payers will compensate those who provide you and your family with these goods and services.

But far beyond the changes in job activities and the nature of the work being done there will be a change in the relationships of the workplace.  It’s true that many people really don’t like their jobs.  Most people find their jobs are a source of stress, anxiety, anger, bitterness, resentment, and discouragement.  A large proportion of the working population say they don’t like their boss, the majority don’t trust him or her to be honest.

With the advent of a Copiosis Economy, this will change.  People will find success only by working with others and through cooperation.  The people you work with will greatly desire that you have success and will want to help you achieve it.  Why?  Because your success means more money for them.  The better you do your job the more money you make, and the more money others involved with you will also make.  We will all be in it together, interconnected in a manner that leads to the greatest benefit for each of us. However, this is not collectivism, where each of the pieces is an expendable part of the whole; this is cooperative networking, where each skilled individual involved is considered a valuable asset to the others they work with.

So how do you find something to do that needs doing, that you can get paid for?  Just as you do now:  Want ads, employment agencies, word-of-mouth via friends, and the Internet are all sources of information about work that someone needs to have done.  Anyone who wants someone to help them with their work will publicize the opportunity to earn money.  Since this work will pay money, which provides Net Benefit to those who are employed; people who help bring work and workers together will also be paid.  In short, lots of people will be eager to help you find work!

Also, no one has to pay for necessities, so people don’t have the incentive to remain in jobs they hate.  If you don’t like your job you can always do something else or even nothing.  A mother who prefers to stay at home to take care of her children can do so, and get paid for it.  A man who wants to be an artist or an author or a song writer can follow his muse without harming his family and if he is good enough at what he does, get paid for it.  If you want to take off for a few months to “recharge your batteries” you can do so.  You can also pursue a career with single-minded determination, and everyone around you will be happy to help.

You have probably heard the phrase “if money were no object” meaning, essentially, if there were plenty of money available to pay for whatever was needed.  In the Copiosis Economy, money is never an object.  That is, whatever you do that produces Net Benefit will be paid.  There is never a shortage of money to pay for benefit generated.  For every activity, money is no object with Copiosis.  This means that you will never be “fired” or “laid off” due to a lack of money.  You work cannot be “exported” as has happened to so many of our traditional industries.  Of course, you might decide to change what you do to make more money, or seek additional education (which you will not have to pay for) to improve your skills, but that is up to you.

So what could the society expect from these changes?

  1. That people would work happier with less stress and far more cooperation.
  2. That production would increase dramatically, since there would be far more people providing actual goods and services rather than merely dealing with money.
  3. That the goods and services produced would be those which actually benefit people.
  4. That the infrastructure of roads, sewage systems, utilities, and conservation would be greatly improved, since those things provide an obvious Net Benefit.
  5. That products would last longer rather than wearing out quickly, since long-lasting products would produce more Net Benefit and thereby generate more pay.
  6. That trustworthy clerks and sales people would become the norm in the marketplace, since they would be paid for how well they benefited the customers.
  7. That products would be safe, and their documentation would be accurate and easy to understand; because that would increase the pay of everyone who contributed to to the design, creation, and distribution of those products.

But there is another aspect to this new work situation, which is the reputation of the people you work with.  That person we mentioned earlier who earns money by connecting those who have work with those who are able to perform those jobs or tasks earns MORE money by getting the right person for that job and preventing a negative situation which could result from sending the wrong person.  This is accomplished by accessing the reputation of the worker. In other words, everyone will accumulate a reputation based on their past performance.  Have they been honest, trustworthy, easy to deal with, dependable, cooperative, intelligent, careful, hard working; or have they lacked these qualities?  Making available such information about people’s work performances is useful in making your decisions about whom to work with.  Since each person is self-employed, when you choose to work with others you are employing them in the same sense that they are employing you.  Therefore, you have just as much right to know about their reputation as they have to know about your reputation.  If they are reluctant or refuse to let you know their reputation, they reveal themselves.  If they willingly share their reputation, then you will be able to review what others have had to say about working with them.

This sharing of reputation information is something that in a traditional economy is prey to many abuses.  People lie or otherwise cheat or even commit libel in creating a database.  People might even provide information that is inappropriate.  There are all sorts of ways to make money by the creation of such a system.  But in a Copiosis Economy, any abuse of the reputation system would cost anyone involved in that violation a lot of money; therefore, we will be building in numerous protections for the individuals who are described by the system, as well as for those who get information from the system.

So let’s say you have had only one job and your supervisor didn’t like you for some reason.  When contributing information to your work reputation, your supervisor in a Copiosis Economy will risk lots of money and the cooperation of others if he does not give an honest evaluation of your work performance.  His own reputation is going to be affected by the information he provides about you.  And his is not the only source of information on your work performance.  Everyone else you worked with will also be able to contribute.  And like your supervisor, their reputations will also be affected by how accurately they evaluate your work.  Therefore, if you are doing good work it will be very difficult for just one or two people to give you a bad reputation.

You will have access to the reputations of those with whom you may be working as well, of course.  If someone is a poor supervisor, you will be able to find that out ahead of time and make your decision as to whether to work with them or not.  (Note that poor supervisors do not long remain as supervisors and they cannot simply go to another town leaving their reputation behind, it goes with them.) You will be able to have a very good idea of what the people you will work with are like.

Finally, there is plenty of work that needs doing in our society, and in every other industrial nation in the world.  In many cases we say that we really need certain things done but “we just don’t have the money” to get them done.  We have children in need of care and education.  We have infrastructure like bridges, roads, and buildings that desperately need maintenance.  We need clean and safe alternative sources of energy.  We need energy-efficient appliances.  We need better security against terrorist threats.  There are many things we need which are not being provided.  In a Copiosis Economy, anyone who provided those things would be well paid.  Therefore, not only will there be unlimited work available for everyone who wants to earn money, but the work that gets done will be that which produces the most real benefits.

 

*Net Benefit = Overall Benefit – Negative Consequences

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