From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Sun Jan 28 2001 - 11:17:03 MST
In a message dated 1/20/01 11:43:39 AM Central Standard Time,
denis.bider@globera.com writes:
> What is it that you mean with
> 'technologies of true abundance'?
>
> Personally, I speculated a lot about what would happen if we were to
develop
> technology that would satisfy, for free, everyone's basic needs. The
problem
> is that 'basic needs' are difficult to define, and I fear that the range of
> 'basic' needs would grow once some initial 'basic needs' are satisfied.
>
> Nevertheless, I think technology could at minimum be provided to satisfy,
> universally, the need for:
> - comfortable shelter
> - good, heterogenous food
> - freedom of communication
> - unrestricted access to information
> - if possible, even complete freedom of movement
>
> Maybe there's more, but I think this would do it very well. I would like to
> see what happens if everyone, with no work required and no compensation
> expected, could be granted all of the above benefits, by means of some
> self-maintaining technology. I speculate the world would be a better place.
We used to talk about this a lot - but the subject hasn't come up lately.
The basic concept held by some is that a very sophisticated nanotech-enabled
economy would be so rich that "the basics" as you describe them could be
provided to people at such low cost that they would be essentially free. As
some have speculated, "free basics" might come with some strings attached,
such as built-in advertising, or as a give-away in connection with some other
goods or services. Beyond this, a sufficiently wealthy and technologically
advanced civilization might be able to afford universal "free basics" as a
matter of charity.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
ICQ # 61112550
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
-- Desmond Morris
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