You weren’t wrong across the board though. I know it’s hard to focus on the positives these days, and we are constantly bombarded with depressing and inane content, but we can’t lose sight of them.
It’s hard to overstate how much the internet has made scientific research and collaboration easier for instance. The sheer amount of research being done has exploded, and it’s far from being all slop. Publishers try their best to paywall the articles but they’re still available nonetheless.
And what about all the art that is shared online by people who would never, in a million years, have been able to show their creations to the world before the internet. Not to mention the people who don’t share it but can make it because of freely available information.
I know it’s not as idyllic as you probably foresaw it (yeah, understatement of the century, I know), but it did happen, even though unfortunately it also led to a gigantic pile of shit. Both can be true simultaneously.
It would improve society in so many ways. The only people it wouldn’t benefit are the ruling class, and by harming the ruling class to benefit society, you benefit society. There are literally no downsides to it.
I so want a UBI. Time to help my community, make open source contributions in ways I deem meaningful and beneficial to society rather than driven by corporate profit, make art, and have as much time as I want with my family? Sign me up.
But we wouldn’t want to prove that people don’t need the fear of homelessness and starvation to be productive now would we?
Don’t wait for your country. How much do you want it? Are you willing to find all the other people who want it? Once enough people want it you can move into one place and pool parts of your income to create it.
Yes, some sort of commune is definitely not out of the question, on a personal level. That does not help the vast majority of people who stand to benefit from it (more so than me) though.
I have long thought that a UBI would generate a new renaissance.
In the early 90’s, myself and every single computing geek I knew thought the Internet would usher in a Renaissance of intellect.
It was humbling to be so sure and so wrong. While I hope the same as you do, I am not so sure of anything anymore.
In the early ’90s*
You weren’t wrong across the board though. I know it’s hard to focus on the positives these days, and we are constantly bombarded with depressing and inane content, but we can’t lose sight of them.
It’s hard to overstate how much the internet has made scientific research and collaboration easier for instance. The sheer amount of research being done has exploded, and it’s far from being all slop. Publishers try their best to paywall the articles but they’re still available nonetheless.
And what about all the art that is shared online by people who would never, in a million years, have been able to show their creations to the world before the internet. Not to mention the people who don’t share it but can make it because of freely available information.
I know it’s not as idyllic as you probably foresaw it (yeah, understatement of the century, I know), but it did happen, even though unfortunately it also led to a gigantic pile of shit. Both can be true simultaneously.
Also Anna’s archive is what I always wanted. That and piracy sites mean that most of the movies, TV, and whatnot are easy to get noatter what
The problem is we don’t.live in a democracy
It would improve society in so many ways. The only people it wouldn’t benefit are the ruling class, and by harming the ruling class to benefit society, you benefit society. There are literally no downsides to it.
I so want a UBI. Time to help my community, make open source contributions in ways I deem meaningful and beneficial to society rather than driven by corporate profit, make art, and have as much time as I want with my family? Sign me up.
But we wouldn’t want to prove that people don’t need the fear of homelessness and starvation to be productive now would we?
Don’t wait for your country. How much do you want it? Are you willing to find all the other people who want it? Once enough people want it you can move into one place and pool parts of your income to create it.
That’s wait I want
Yes, some sort of commune is definitely not out of the question, on a personal level. That does not help the vast majority of people who stand to benefit from it (more so than me) though.
Grow it. If people benefit they will join.
3 minutes of Brian Eno taking in this very topic.
https://youtu.be/xDZ4L2JjlZY