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Read this interesting essay written by DEREK THOMPSON
For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. Could that be a good thing ?
The end of work is still just a futuristic concept for most of the United States, but it is something like a moment in history for Youngstown, Ohio, one its residents can cite with precision: September 19, 1977.
For much of the 20th century, Youngstown's steel mills delivered such great prosperity that the city was a model of the American dream, boasting a median income and a home ownership rate that were among the nation's highest. But as manufacturing shifted abroad after World War II, Youngstown steel suffered, and on that gray September afternoon in 1977, Youngstown Sheet and Tube announced the shuttering of its Campbell Works mill. Within five years, the city lost 50,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in manufacturing wages. The effect was so severe that a term was coined to describe the fallout: regional depression.
Youngstown was transformed not only by an economic disruption but also by a psychological and cultural breakdown. Depression, spousal abuse, and suicide all became much more prevalent; the caseload of the area's mental-health center tripled within a decade. The city built four prisons in the mid-1990s—a rare growth industry. One of the few downtown construction projects of that period was a museum dedicated to the defunct steel industry.
The future will tell us whether or not this pans out as he envisions. What does SN think will happen ?
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday June 25 2015, @10:26AM
Yeah, the Manna story has its drawbacks, the utopian spine-chip being one, and the ham-fisted romance being another. Strip those unnecessary details away and look at the two different economic & societal routes taken in the wake of mass-automation, and you have the two basic extreme possibilities that we could be looking at.
As usual, the reality will probably fall somewhere between the extremes.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday June 25 2015, @10:46AM
Fortunately, by that time, the crack prices will fall just like the ones for marijuana today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 5, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Thursday June 25 2015, @10:50AM
and the ham-fisted romance being another.
Romance? Come to Utopia and the first hot chick you take a shine to will definitely sleep with you and will tell you as much within five minutes of meeting you!
The author really did his story a disservice by ridiculously overplaying the "everything is awesome!" angle.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 5, Informative) by mcgrew on Thursday June 25 2015, @01:39PM
Actually, that's not really off base. In the 1970s when I was in my 20s contraception was cheap and easy, abortion had been legalized and there were no incurable STDs, women would come up to me and ask "wanna fuck?" as casually as "wanna smoke a doob?"
It all changed when AIDS came around.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2015, @04:43PM
Oh wow! No wonder they made the best music and cars in the 70s...
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday June 25 2015, @06:06PM
I haven't read Mana (actually the first I've hear of it) but in my imaginings, a post-scarcity world look a lot like the Culture in Ian M. Banks' book "Player of Games". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Player_of_Games [wikipedia.org] The story isn't about post-scarcity per se, but it is set in a world that is quite obviously that. It also deals with AI in a NOT sci-fear manner (one of the main characters is an AI). It's also a good read.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday June 25 2015, @06:44PM
. There's a nice bit at the beginning of one of them - pretty sure it's ' look to windward' - that talks about 'work' and 'holiday' in their civilisation and other more ' primitive' societies like ours. Also a lovely bit in 'use of weapons' where a guy cleaning takes in a cafe explains why he bothers to work when he doesn't have to.
Also, this essay: vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday June 25 2015, @06:46PM
Sorry, stupid phone browser ate half my post. That should have begun 'funny you should mention the culture because in one of the books, pretty sure it's look to windward,'
Also 'cleaning tables'
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Friday June 26 2015, @12:42AM
That's an awesome article -- thanks for the link. There are some deep ideas behind the Culture.
clicky: http://vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm [vavatch.co.uk]