A version of this post ran on the Copiosis blog on December 12, 2017.
In a previous post, I describe how most people support wage slavery. They say people will not ordinarily do things that must be done to keep society working. So “we” must force people (in capitalism) to do them, by restricting necessities from those unwilling to work.
These same people never say they would do those sucky jobs. They usually mean “other people” (read: minorities and the poor or poorly educated) must do these things. Things like garbage pickup, grueling or backbreaking manufacturing or farming, working in meat rendering plants, and doing mind-numbing jobs such as moving luggage into aircraft cargo holds and light but repetitive (i.e. boring) assembly or assembly-line quality-control work.
People concerned about what other people are doing or not doing, really are saying “others have to work like my slaves in order for me to maintain my comfortable life.”
In this post, I examine this concern then explain why it doesn’t matter if people become lazy in Copiosis. Indeed, people becoming lazy is a very good thing.
Better than you think
In Copiosis, “the basics” (Necessities) will allow some to live lives of leisure. We don’t know how many, but I suspect a LOT will. Initially. That’s because as people wake from their indoctrination (discussed later), many are going to need time to cope with their newfound freedoms as well as morn the freedom they had given up for so long.
But in the long run, after they have shaken off indoctrination, the majority of those people will return to production, but at much higher production levels. There are a lot of great reasons for this.
All things being equal, who cares if people choose to enjoy a basic necessities life? The people providing those necessities get rewarded and, presuming they are doing these things because they want to, i.e. it is their passion to do it, where is the harm?
This is a good time to reintroduce the phrase “indoctrination trope”. It refers to automatic thinking humans engage in, rather than exercising critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Indoctrination trope is what you see when someone watches a 3-minute introduction video of an idea that is very well-thought-out, seems to offer fantastic possibilities, and promises to solve a lot of our major problems, and, instead of asking for more information, or going and looking for more information on their own, that person says something like “this is tried and true communism”, or “this nullifies everything in the US Constitution, eliminating all our freedoms”.
Indoctrination tropes are things people say while their brains are turned off.
Back to people being lazy:
Presumably, a “significant” number people exist who, in Copiosis, would retreat to a basic-necessity-only lifestyle, and that would…what?
End society as we know it? Stop the consumer machine? Create financial mayhem?
Here’s what I believe would happen. And there is a LOT of evidence indicating this is a definite outcome for the majority of such people. (This also happens to be one of the major outcomes of Copiosis.)
After a time spent living life subsisting on basic necessities, one or several or all of these things would happen.
- People would finally get over their indoctrination. They will need a LOT of help doing this, but necessities are at no cost and (mental) healthcare is one of the necessities. So is education.
- Next, they would get bored. Boredom is a great motivator. No one tolerates boredom for long.
- They would avail themselves of opportunities their passions present. Whether it’s video gaming, fishing, tightroping or whatever, people will start doing things they like. And no, not everyone likes painting or playing video games.
A couple other things would happen sooner or later:
These people would see the tremendous number of high-quality and attractive luxury opportunities that exist in Copiosis (opportunities that don’t exist today because “cost” makes them impossible or at least improbable). They will read and see on TV how people are creating all kinds of crazy cool stuff, and hear about all kinds of opportunities where they can learn to do the same thing…..at no cost! (Education is a necessity).
They will continue to do things that they enjoy. And then, someday….they will have an ah-ha moment: That’s when they will connect what they like to do with a way to serve other people through doing that thing.
For the gamer, it may be an improvement on gaming, gaming accessories, or increasing the sociability of the gaming community; for the fisherman, it might be helping to restock fish stocks or creating new fishing opportunities/experiences, or offering fishing charters with a unique flair.
For the tightroper, it might be offering a unique entertainment experience (which is EXACTLY where Cirque du Soleil came from, BTW. Cirque du Soleil is now a global enterprise and worth nearly a billion dollars). Then those people will be compelled intrinsically to put those ah-has into action.
But unlike in capitalism, connections, money, debt, lack of education…lack of opportunity….none of these things will stand in their way.
They also might be extrinsically motivated to consume some really cool experience or product that is a luxury….But wait: Luxuries are only available to those who have sufficient NBR to satisfy the gateway. How can these Necessity subsisters obtain NBR….?
Thus the virtuous cycle of Copiosis is ignited…in every person. Every person! Because everyone has a passion. Everyone!
In Copiosis they can
So a person who subsists on necessities isn’t harming anyone. They are living life and happy. It’s highly likely they will get bored and want to do something more than what they are doing. Particularly when they discover some luxury opportunity they want, but then realize they don’t have the NBR to have the experience. Or they see someone doing something and they say “I can do that”.
And in Copiosis they can.
For the relative TINY minority that doesn’t follow the path I suggest above, I say….so what?
There is a short-term problem, which we have identified and solved through Copiosis: While people are waking from their stupor, some necessary things have to be done. But not enough people are doing these things. Like meat rendering and garbage pickup for example. Two things happen in both cases:
- Those who continue doing that work (and there will be some because we all don’t think the same) are rewarded a lot more, for doing that work that once paid shit. Why? Because it is needed, fewer people are doing it, and so the reward for doing that work goes way up, all things being equal. That’s how the Copiosis algorithm works.
- But wait a minute…something else happens: Let’s take garbage collection. Why do we need garbage collection? Well, because people make garbage (garbage is really called “waste”). But “waste” is a fiction. Nothing is wasted in nature. Why is waste happening in human societies? Can an entrepreneur, guided and inspired by All That Is (all entrepreneurs are guided in this way, as is everyone else) create something that makes “garbage” and “waste” obsolete, thereby eliminating the need for garbage pickup?
You bet!
Especially in a system where cost is not a factor. And the reward for creating something with such huge impact to people and the planet is freaking huge!
Again, look at the algorithm and what it rewards. How many people are benefited from an invention that eliminates garbage pick up hauling and processing? How about the planet? HUGE BENEFITS! And you can bet there would be a lot of people thinking this way…in all kinds of areas.
What happens in Copiosis if there aren’t enough garbage collectors is, one, existing collectors get NBR rich. People see the collectors enjoying Luxuries collectors couldn’t before and some of those folks decide to become collectors. Others invent ways to solve the collection/garbage problem. This problem can’t be solved today.
Why do you think is can’t be solved today?
So the fear that people must work and work hard or else society collapses is just an indoctrination trope. Besides, our society is rapidly approaching a critical point with regards to automation: Fewer people are going work in the future anyway!
So we’re already heading in that direction. Copiosis can fill the pain gap between today and when automation makes our lives walks in parks.
Copiosis can fill that gap easily.
