The problem with eliminating work (which we're getting pretty good at) is that we don't then have a system to support people who don't work.
In order for A to not have a negative effect, you have to have B.
In order for A to not have a negative effect, you have to have B.
Employs millions, but is ultimately a nationwide make work program to satisfy congressional districts. USA encourages a byzantine system that substitutes waste for the appearance of choice.
95% of the labor input of farming has been wiped out over the past 200 years, and yet hunger is a smaller problem than it has ever been in the course of human history.
The anarchist Bob Black had plenty of interesting things to say about this, but a good generalization of one of his key thoughts is that any job worth doing will have people volunteering to do it. If no one ever had to want for anything in terms of food or shelter, we'd still have firemen. We'd still have doctors. We'd still have farmers. We'd still have teachers. These are all jobs with intrinsic meaning, beyond the paycheck.
That's too close to Maoist-style re-education for my taste...
I think we need to have more adult learning opportunities. And, that this has to come from governments, unions, and employers all working together.
Take for example car manufacturing plants. We know those factories are going to close, they always do. That means 1000 to 2000 people laid off. Wouldn't it better to have a 4 day work week, with 1 day of education. Perhaps learning auto repair, welding, or some other skill that people can fall back to or transition to.
But, the only way to get the 4 day work week, with 1 day of education, is to have a large social shift in how things function.
There's this perception by both left and right that wealth is a zero sum game - that it isn't created, only taken.