See, that wouldn't work because if everyone is rich nobody is. As countries develop and education improves, birth rate declines strikingly [1]. As we continue to automate, the number of people we need working to support us declines, too. Naturally, even if the economy remained the same size, per capita yields over time would increase.
We don't need as many people on earth as we have to sustain ourselves, and the population will naturally right-size over time. Unfortunately there'll be a painful transition period where there's more people than work to do. We can either make work, kill people, or we can pay people to stay home and do... whatever. I'm very much in favor of the latter.
Many people derive their identity, sense of self and satisfaction from what they do. Those people will continue to work. Some will stay home and pursue liberal arts or stay-at-home parenting. All that is fine.
The inescapable future, though, is that medicine, law, manufacturing, farming -- everything we do -- will be automated. This will free us to pursue our passions whatever they may be. In the interim, we've got basic income. To be clear, this still leaves room in society for wealth and income inequality as a motivator -- you can still be fabulously wealthy in a world where the poor are healthy and secure. We're just talking about bumping up the bottom line so the alternative isn't death and suffering.
We don't need as many people on earth as we have to sustain ourselves, and the population will naturally right-size over time. Unfortunately there'll be a painful transition period where there's more people than work to do. We can either make work, kill people, or we can pay people to stay home and do... whatever. I'm very much in favor of the latter.
Many people derive their identity, sense of self and satisfaction from what they do. Those people will continue to work. Some will stay home and pursue liberal arts or stay-at-home parenting. All that is fine.
The inescapable future, though, is that medicine, law, manufacturing, farming -- everything we do -- will be automated. This will free us to pursue our passions whatever they may be. In the interim, we've got basic income. To be clear, this still leaves room in society for wealth and income inequality as a motivator -- you can still be fabulously wealthy in a world where the poor are healthy and secure. We're just talking about bumping up the bottom line so the alternative isn't death and suffering.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate#/media/Fi...