Human Nature, Competition, Employment, and Housing within a Resource Based Economy47 min read

Introduction

Pursuant to a Facebook conversation I popped into, I am writing this post to help to answer some questions asked about a Resource Based Economy (RBE). If you do not know what a Resource Based Economy is or why we need to transition to one, then check out my post: The Cancer of Capitalism and Its Antidote where I talk about this and provide a research path for you to learn more.

<insert post to read: The Cancer of Capitalism and Its Antidote>

To start answering the questions posed in that Facebook thread you WILL want to read my two other Resource Based Economy posts once you have an idea as to what a RBE is and why we need to transition to one:

• Productivity and Motivation in a Resource Based Economy? which actually answers quite a bit of this issue of motivation within a Resource Based Economy.
• You will also want to read my post which talks about How will a Resource Based Economy work? What will it look like? which also tackles some of these answers too.

Consider these 3 posts as required reading, because the info and ideas there will form the framework or even form the full answers for part of the questions asked. Because answering anything about a Resource Based Economy is never a straight line, this post will be rather long and will cross through various disciplines from psychology, economics, morality, and religion so buckle in for the interdisciplinary ride to talk about competition and human nature within the framework of a Resource Based Economy.

I have a few other RBE posts too which cover other aspects of RBE:

• Tension within Methods of Exchange
• What Could the Cities of Tomorrow Under a Resource Based Economy Look Like?
• Benefits of a Resource Based Economy for Industries and Businesses
• Some Technical Steps Towards Implementing a Global Resource Based Economy
• Capitalism and Resource Based Economies Q&A from Facebook (Dec 2020)

I. Human Nature?

This section is written to address this quote from that thread:

RBE would never work due to this and other traits of human nature

A. The Relativity of Human Nature

First, let us dispel the notion of an immutable and especially negative Human Nature. Human Nature is an ever changing creature fed and formed through the ever changing webs of cultural, religious, social, political, economic, and familial evolution and indoctrination (environmental factors).

• What is considered Human Nature in Sweden is very different from that which is found within indigenous tribes who have had no contact with the civilized world.
• In some tribal cultures eating the newly dead is acceptable. In most civilizations around the world it is abhorrent to do so.
• In some tribal cultures wearing rings around your neck to increase the height of your neck is height of desirability.
• In some cultures we eat cows; and in others it is socially abhorrent to do so.
• In some cultures the norm is to be basically naked all of the time; and in some it is desirable to be fully clothed so that only the eyes can be seen.
• A child raised to hate some class of people will most likely hate them because that is what they are taught, whereas a child who is taught and experienced social, ethnic, and racial diversity will most likely embrace all classes of people. For fairly extreme contemporary examples of this we can look to:
  • Israel’s merciless slaughter of Palestinians
  • Islamic countries stoning of people and the execution of those who are not believers
  • Any other form of ethnic cleansing world-wide
  • And then we can take a look at the few countries were non-believers are the majority.
• A child raised in Saudi Arabia will most likely be Muslim. A child raised in India will most likely be Hindu. A child raised in the United States will most likely be Christian. Where you are born will determine a lot about who you become, what you believe, and what your Human Nature will be.
• Human Nature can also vary quite a bit between socioeconomic classes as well. I have a section titled The Harms of Inequality in my post The Cancer of Capitalism which goes into more detail in this very important topic:
  • Excess – Having disproportionate access to money and resources can also drastically pervert your world-view – a person’s nature – and your value system as a result becoming less compassionate and more sociopathic.
  • Insufficient – Similarly, being poverty stricken can have a severe effect on your human nature. The harms poverty and suffering are well documented. I have a post with links to the harmful effects of poverty which also points to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and biopsychosocial effects. Not having your base survival needs met without having to worry can have a drastic effect on your psychological and emotional state. Those who are impoverished or who have suffered through inequality tend to be more compassionate.
• Human nature can also change based on whether one perceives oneself as in the majority or in the minority and might face persecution or prejudice.

We can go on an on with examples of relative culture and social norms and examples of relative human nature as it varies throughout geography (geographic determinism), socioeconmic class, minority status, and so many more. Environment matters! (environmental determinism)

Let us also consider how human nature changes throughout time too. The social and cultural norms of any given culture changes as the years pass. The United States of 100 years ago and today is very different, and the same goes for all other parts of the world too. Take a look at value systems of Nazi Germany as compared to today’s Germany, or the values of pre-revolutionary Russia and today’s Russia.

In NO way is Human Nature an immutable thing. Human Nature is a very malleable entity heavily influenced by time and by environmental and social factors which is very much what we will need to work with in order to bring change to Humanity.

B. Human Nature from the Beginning?

So that we can see how far we have fallen (and changed) from our beginnings, let us ask this question:

“What was ‘human nature’ like during the Paleolithic Age (hunter-gatherers) prior to the rise of the Neolithic Revolution (the advent of agrarianism) and economic systems which has radically changed the face of Humanity and the Earth itself?“

Many academics believe that during hunter-gather times that humans were nomadic, cooperative, and egalitarian, as well as valued and deeply respected the natural world. There was no private property – everything was shared throughout the tribe as needed. There was no real war or violence. Homo Sapiens (Humanity) survived exactly because we were a social and cooperative species. This is super important to understand because this is the state of how Humanity lived for 99% of our existence. It is even more than that (99%) if you want to consider how much further back our evolutionary psychology goes if you take into account our evolutionary predecessors from which our psychology was inherited (Homo Neanderthalis, Homo Australpithecus, Homo Habilis, etc).

Some tribes even engaged in what is called Reverse Dominance Hierarchy methods in order to keep the peace and to keep people humble, cooperative, and truly a part of the tribe – to pull them down to the tribal center. Some also practiced something called Ubuntu which is where the tribe circles the social offender and talks speaks the ways that the person is great to remind them of how good they are so that they can return to that instead of their harmful ways – positive reinforcement and social pressure to lift them up to the tribal center.

I talk about these topics in a section of my post on Religion titled Human Morality as an Evolutionary Adaptation.

How far have we fallen from our egalitarian and eco-humanist beginnings to now where our societies are vastly patriarchal, disconnected, and values profit no matter the cost to Humanity or the Natural World while exploiting and commodifying everything from the environment to each and every human! Perhaps, there is even an correlation between the rise of agrarianism and economic systems and the rise of patriarchal and oppressive social and economic structures?

C. Systemic Perversion of Human Nature from Economic Systems

Introduction

Perhaps, the most universally pervasive factor that effects all global social, culture, political, and religious, ethical, and moral values are the pernicious effects that monetary systems have. In my post the Cancer of Capitalism where I first talk about Resource Based Economies I go over the many, many issues created by a economic systems which supposedly drives innovation.

<insert post to read: The Cancer of Capitalism and Its Antidote>

I will go over a few more examples here to widen our understanding and consideration of its effects:

1. The Perversion of Competition

One of the significant issues with economic systems pervading every aspect of humanity from our social, political, religious, economic, and ethical arenas is the systemic promotion of competition as a benefit of capitalism.

Although, the harsh reality is that humanity suffers because competition sets us against each other which violates our mutual interdependence, prevents cooperation, and prevents the use of a complete global brain-trust to solve all of Humanity’s problems. Competition creates significantly harmful individual and corporate behaviors because the only thing that matters is for our group to profit or to win in the race no matter the cost. I talk about the progenitor of this phenomenon in a page titled Tension within Methods of Exchange.

Here is the last thing I leave your with from my Tension post:

“How can we create a world based on cooperation and peace between Humanity and the Environment when then core driver of Methods of Exchange is based on Competition which powerfully rewards the exploitation of Humanity and the Natural World?“

Here are examples of those harmful resultant exploitative behaviors:

• creating shortcuts, bypassing regulations, and ignoring faulty testing results
• not caring about or hiding environmental damage or harms to people (negative externalities)
• resort to industrial sabotage or other ways to screw over others who are working on a similar or competing solutions
• buying out patents and businesses just to bury their research or competing business model 
• shipping business to countries with deplorable working conditions or substandard industrial and safety standards, such as using sweatshop labor
• accepting and working for businesses with unethical business practices such as poverty wages, not providing healthcare, unsafe working conditions, as well as profiting from environmental destruction, war, or other human suffering 
• creating inferior products that are meant to break sooner than later so that the consumer has to buy more increasing waste, pollution, and danger to the consumer (planned obsolescence)

… all in a bid to reduce competition, increase their profits, and to prevent their business from being adversely affected by external sources of economic conflict.

The competitive environment which is required by capitalism and monetary systems is mutually destructive because we all suffer by the destruction of our environment and of our fellow human beings while the corporations and the high level decision makers are revered and rewarded for such perverse, unethical,  and harmful actions which are seen as shrewd and as good business sense.

2. The Perversion of Conservatism

The entire middle section of my post Religion, an Overview goes over the corrupting forces of conservative movements and religions. I even make the case that there is a need for religion in the past and even today because it is used as a coping mechanism verses the horrors of monetary systems; and that we will not be able to evolve beyond a world divided by artificial divisions until we transcend monetary systems and their resultant corruptions. I also talk about the extreme level of dehumanization found in conservative belief systems and the harms caused because of it. Please also read that entire post so you can really understand that chain of thought.

<insert post to read: Religion, an Overview>

Did you notice the correlative echoes of the regressions of economic systems within religion too? I talk about that at the end of that post.

Conservatism (as we see it today within the context of monetary systems) evolved out of psychological necessity in order to maintain, support, and rationalize the corruptions of competition, scarcity, and monetary systems such as the severe dehumanization and exploitation of Humanity, the corruption found in competition, violence and war, the abject violation of the environment, and, more importantly, in order to perpetuate the methods of division such as: tribal, national, racial, sexual, cultural, religious divisions, etc – all of which are needed to sustain competitive economic systems.

If we were to imagine a future Humanity free of such corruptions as ignorance, division, competition, and economic systems they would find the vampiric and saprophytic harms that economic systems require in order to sustain itself as unconscionable and abhorrent. Hopefully, you are starting to see that.

D. Transcending the Relativity of Human Nature?

Introduction

Ultimately, the question becomes: How do we transcend such artificial environmentally deterministic moral relativity to find a Human Nature – a moral or ethical value system – that is more universal and beneficial to ALL of Humanity, and that will guide us to a more peaceful and cooperative world where ALL of Humanity will thrive (not just the rich and sociopathic- those who benefit most from the exploitation of Humanity and the environment), and where we will FINALLY be able to end poverty and war.

This all really gets to the question of how do we create a society that perpetuates the social and economic ideals that are required to power a Resourced Based Economy (RBE). Well, to be fair, a RBE has never existed so we really do not know for sure yet, but there are still things that humanity as a whole, in our world which is corrupted and devastated by the horrors of economic systems, must learn and transcend beyond in order to begin that transitionary process and to bring peace and cooperation to the world.

1. A New Ethical System for a World Beyond War, Poverty, and Suffering

At its core, Human Nature, stripped of all of the national, cultural, religious, political, ethnic, sexual, social and economic indoctrination, perversions, and relativity, as well as the horrific corruptions of economic systems and conservatism is really Humanism.

A Resource Based Economy, as a socioeconomic ideal, strives to embody a culture and society built upon humanistic ideals. A society focused on maximizing the benefits of science, technology, and human innovation for ALL of Humanity while implementing humanistic ideas and environmental reverence will be needed to replace the broken and strife-ridden cultures created through the exploitation, division, and destruction required for the perpetuation of monetary systems.

a. What is Humanism?

What is Humanism? Here are some quick definitions for you:

Humanism

Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition. (Wikipedia)

Humanism

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good (American Humanist)

Humanism

Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance that affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. Humanism stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethics based on human and other natural values in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. Humanism is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality. (International Humanist and Ethical Union)

Humanism

Humanism is a broad category of ethical, metaphysical, epistemological and political philosophies in which human interests, values and dignity predominate. It has an ultimate faith in humankind, believes that human beings possess the power or potentiality of solving their own problems, through reliance primarily upon reason and scientific method applied with courage and vision. (Philosophy Basics)

b. Amsterdam Declaration of 2002

Here is the Amsterdam declaration which was put together in 2002 at a World Congress:

Humanism is the outcome of a long tradition of free thought that has inspired many of the world’s great thinkers and creative artists and gave rise to science itself.

The fundamentals of modern Humanism are as follows:

1. Humanism is ethical. It affirms the worth, dignity and autonomy of the individual and the right of every human being to the greatest possible freedom compatible with the rights of others. Humanists have a duty of care to all of humanity including future generations. Humanists believe that morality is an intrinsic part of human nature based on understanding and a concern for others, needing no external sanction.

2. Humanism is rational. It seeks to use science creatively, not destructively. Humanists believe that the solutions to the world’s problems lie in human thought and action rather than divine intervention. Humanism advocates the application of the methods of science and free inquiry to the problems of human welfare. But Humanists also believe that the application of science and technology must be tempered by human values. Science gives us the means but human values must propose the ends.

3. Humanism supports democracy and human rights. Humanism aims at the fullest possible development of every human being. It holds that democracy and human development are matters of right. The principles of democracy and human rights can be applied to many human relationships and are not restricted to methods of government.

4. Humanism insists that personal liberty must be combined with social responsibility. Humanism ventures to build a world on the idea of the free person responsible to society, and recognises our dependence on and responsibility for the natural world. Humanism is undogmatic, imposing no creed upon its adherents. It is thus committed to education free from indoctrination.

5. Humanism is a response to the widespread demand for an alternative to dogmatic religion. The world’s major religions claim to be based on revelations fixed for all time, and many seek to impose their world-views on all of humanity. Humanism recognises that reliable knowledge of the world and ourselves arises through a continuing process of observation, evaluation and revision.

6. Humanism values artistic creativity and imagination and recognises the transforming power of art. Humanism affirms the importance of literature, music, and the visual and performing arts for personal development and fulfilment.

7. Humanism is a lifestance aiming at the maximum possible fulfilment through the cultivation of ethical and creative living and offers an ethical and rational means of addressing the challenges of our times. Humanism can be a way of life for everyone everywhere.

Our primary task is to make human beings aware in the simplest terms of what Humanism can mean to them and what it commits them to. By utilising free inquiry, the power of science and creative imagination for the furtherance of peace and in the service of compassion, we have confidence that we have the means to solve the problems that confront us all. We call upon all who share this conviction to associate themselves with us in this endeavour.

IHEU Congress 2002

c. Other Examples and Ideas

You could look to the wonderful Universal Declaration of Human Rights to get another idea as to what humanistic ideals might look like in broad form. You can also check my Declaration of Unified Rights of Humanity (DURH) which is an extension of this former amazing document.

Another way to start to explore this idea is through moral psychology and comparative anthropology which can help you explore the essence of the moral foundations of humanity.

2. Steps to Get There from Here

So, how do we get to a society which has humanistic values and reveres the natural world which is a massive jump from the ecocidal morass we have today? Well, I have posted a few parts of that answer in a few of my previous posts all of which need to be embraced in one form or another by the various nations of the world to begin the transition to a more peaceful and cooperative world. I do not have all of the answers, just a good start on what it will take to get there.

Below are the two basic methods that I have written about and a few other related ideas which can usher in a new era of Humanity living in a world beyond war and poverty through the social engineering of a new global Human Nature.

a. The 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace in Humanity

First and foremost, we will pull in my 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace in Humanity, which is powerfully eco-humanistic in nature and will form the philosophical foundations for a fundamental and powerful shift towards global peace and cooperation. Implementing these in all aspects of social, political, economic, ethical, and religious facets of life would fundamentally transform the world from the blood-soaked horror show we have today into something radically different where peace and cooperation along with environmental protection and remediation become the forefront of all of Humanity’s works. These need to be the lens through which we see each other and the world through.

The 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace in Humanity are:

1. Interdependence
2. Humanity
3. Natural World
4. Sustainability
5. Equity
6. Education
7. Justice and Compassion
8. Science and Technology

Read my entire post so you can see the explanation for these pillars:

<insert post to read: The 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace in Humanity>

… and my other post which talks about them a little more:

<insert post to read: Interdependence and the 7 Pillars for Peace within Humanity>

b. Eco-humanistic Values for Corporations and Political Parties

Especially in America which suffers from the disease of unbridled capitalism we must help to rein in its horrors so that the people of the world do not suffer from our coporate, militaristic, and economic warfare. We need radical ethical corporate reform to put an end to the majority of the problems we have as a country – profit no matter the cost to humans or the environment. Radical ethical reform in corporations will result in tremendous gains in the social world such a: truly livable wages, universal health insurance, radically reduced income inequality, and reduced life stress. Implementing the 8 Pillars would result in severe corporate reform through the implementation ethical requirements such as this policy of mine:

<insert page to read: How Do We Transform Unbridled Capitalism Towards a New Ethical and Eco-humanistic Model?>

These would also need to be implemented and required for the formation of Political Parties too because they are the ones that are making the laws that the corporations are writing and handing over to the politicians to pass. Ethical requirements for politicians are a must because they write the rules.

C. Shift from Competition  to Cooperation

Another inevitable byproduct of implementing the 8 Pillars would be a fundamental shift from global competition to global cooperation. Above we talked about the many harmful perversions of competition, and if we want to end those, then the drive of competition needs to end or be severely curtailed. It needs to be emphasized that the rewards for working together in order to solve a problem will always be greater than gains from competition, because competition requires the lessening of and working against your fellow Humans which greatly diminishes the good that can be accomplished when Humanity utilizes the global cooperative brain-trust.

Cooperation will allow much more powerful progress to be had and to have it happen quicker because many, many people globally will be working on the important issues together instead of many, many individual projects working separately on the same issue going through the same steps and wasting many hours of duplicate work and resources, as well as isolating creativity and ideas.

D. Governmental Policy and Social Engineering

With such powerful Humanistic tools such as the 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace at our disposal, plus other interdisciplinary tools, we can fashion an ethical and moral Human Nature for the world of tomorrow. To do this, we will be required to engineer our society towards that end because it will not just magically happen. We will have to teach these values in schools and shift our governmental philosophies to this, and to operate our businesses using this. We can also further spread this knowledge creating classes and training through videos, online classes, seminars, as well as articles written to help educate the populace. Existing national laws will need to be shifted to embody such values in order to start that transition and help make it a core part of human behavior. If we are able to effectively institute this in schools this could radically change the face the the world in one or two generations.

Remember, as a part of getting to a world with a Resource Based Economy, we will require an incredible amount of social change so that we can shift people’s values towards one that is cooperative and one that respects and yearns to unify and uplift our global community instead of dividing and exploiting them so such actions competition might really be a thing of the past and we will eventually see competition as a very regressive and harmful way of thinking as a horrible vestige of Humanity corrupted by the horrors of economic systems. Once we have shaken off those oppressive shackles we can have a world with one humanity unified towards our own mutual salvation, peace, prosperity, and progress.

II. Radical Equality and Personal Freedom

Introduction

Now, let us take a look at the very last line of this quote and attempt to answer the issues touched upon in that quote:

SO who decides on who works and who doesn’t? Say I have zero skills, but someone else understands code. Does that mean that the person that has the code skill has to work to make our society functional and the person that has zero skills doesn’t? Do they both live in the same size house and have the same quality of life?

Due to the corrupt influence of competition, scarcity, inequality, and economic systems a person’s well-being and very worth, as well access to resources is tied directly to how much they work at any given moment throughout their lives, which is a world where access to housing and other things like healthcare or access to food and education are NOT a human right. A world where the interdependence of all – each and every human being – is not known and the very idea despised because it would harm profit. This is a sad and violent world where such resources are NOT seen as a universal necessity for equality, individual happiness, and for the ability to maximize the productivity of an individual, as well as the universal advancement of ALL of Humanity.

He is specifically asking about a person who, thankfully, has the ability to travel and actually enjoy life and is, in his estimation which is heavily corrupted by economic systems, is doing nothing; how shall their housing compare to those people who are currently doing something useful for society (from the colored view of competition and economic systems) – i.e. is working?

In order to answer this we are going to have to take talk about one of the fundamental topics that define the goals of a Resource Based Economy – equity of resource access (eliminate non-voluntary inequality).

A. Equity of Resource Access as a Necessary Goal

A major goal of RBE is to maximize the lives of ALL of Humanity and a significant issue that creates most issues in today’s broken world is socio-economic inequality. If you want to learn more about this topic the following two books will make the harmful effects of inequality quite clear and reinforce why a radical level equity is required:

• Read: The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger
• Read: The Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity and Improve Everyone’s Well-Being

As a matter of fact, in my policies I have those two books as two of The Books You NEED to Read.

With that being said, it becomes apparent that working towards radically minimizing inequality in resource access in ALL areas of life is a powerful goal which will lead to eliminating poverty, crime, war, and other adverse social and psychological results; and to give people a level of freedom and fulfillment that they have never known or could even dream was truly possible before.

Now, we are not saying that everyone will be eating the same foods and wearing the same clothes like clones from a factory (ie Cookie Cutter Communism), because that would violate the fundamental Philosophical Pillar of Humanity. I am saying that all will have a level of equal access to as many resources as possible. With great access to such powerful resources as education, 3D printing, advanced AI, and computer clusters, education, healthcare, food, technology, transportation, etc… that people will have a high level of autonomy and individuality, and an ability to make a difference to society in the way they would like to. My post How will a Resource Based Economy work? goes over how this might manifest.

If we have equal access to all things then what motivation do I have to do anything? Well, I covered that a bit above and in my post on Productivity and Motivation which also requires radical social values change.

B. Who Will Work and Why?

To quote the person who started the Facebook thread which kind of went off the rails: 

Is there no competition in RBE? Even for jobs, that have not yet automated?

…and another related post in that thread…

SO who decides on who works and who doesn’t? Say I have zero skills, but someone else understands code. Does that mean that the person that has the code skill has to work to make our society functional and the person that has zero skills doesn’t? Do they both live in the same size house and have the same quality of life?

First, to start to answer these questions you will want to read my 2 posts which specifically talk about motivation and productivity in a RBE as well as how an RBE may operate on a very basic level:

<insert post to read: Productivity and Motivation in a Resource Based Economy?>

<insert post to read: How will a Resource Based Economy work? What will it look like?>

… because my posts answer parts of those questions pretty well, but I am going to cut these quotes apart and talk about them in more manageable pieces below:

1. Motivation and Productivity in a Resource Based Economy

SO who decides on who works and who doesn’t? Say I have zero skills, but someone else understands code. Does that mean that the person that has the code skill has to work to make our society functional and the person that has zero skills doesn’t? Do they both live in the same size house and have the same quality of life?

Michael L. Wright

Not to call out the poster here because we are all victims of economic systems, but with this last question, there is a level of conditioned fear and selfishness that comes with the pernicious social and psychological effects of economic systems which is very much promoted by conservative ideologies. Why should I have to work and someone else does not, those bunch of lazy societal moochers, those welfare queens?!?

This line of questioning really comes back to the age old question about motivation and productivity in a Resource Based Economy. Because we are so programmed to see the world through the lenses of selfishness, fear, capitalism, and competition it can be very, very hard to imagine what this world will be like without those things, without the need to work or have your family die in the streets. To start to answer this question you need to read my post: Productivity and Motivation in a Resource Based Economy as well as How will a Resource Based Economy work? What will it look like? which covers access to education and skills training:

<insert post to read: Productivity and Motivation in a Resource Based Economy?>

<insert post to read: How will a Resource Based Economy work? What will it look like?>

I also cover this question in Jobs? section this post: Capitalism and Resource Based Economies Q&A from Facebook (Dec 2020).

2. Zero Skills?

Lets address the fallacious idea of zero skills. This is a very alarmist, dismissive, conservative, and capitalist way of thinking of things, and it is patently false. No one has zero skills. The existence of this would also be a damning indictment of capitalism too, if it were really a thing.

Now, to understand this basic answer to this issue you will want to have read my post above on Productivity and Motivation. I will recap the pertinent ideas below so we can stop this crazy zero skills idea:

• Ubiquitous Education: Education for ALL of Humanity will be ubiquitous, interdisciplinary, free at all levels including post doctoral, apprenticeships, etc… and engage people in such a way that all of Humanity will be lifelong learners and will always have useful skills. 
• Interdisciplinary Education: The education system will be broad and will emphasize the interdependence of all disciplines – help to connect them in ways that our education systems today fails at miserably, and shall have sciences, logical thinking, and experimentation built it as core educational concepts to promote problem solving. 

Such a broad and interconnected education will have people considering work and passions in fields that people now a days would not even look at because they do not have the diverse and interdisciplinary educational background required for such openness.

3. Highly Educated Populace in an RBE

Consider what having a highly educated populace means:

• Educated Populace: A highly educated populace is both a curse and a blessing, because highly educated people:
  • are able to see problems
  • are driven to find or see solutions
  • will want to help with those solutions.
• Curiosity: With their diverse and interdisciplinary education, a curious, passionate, and innovative populace will be driven to work in areas that matter because they will see existing problems and they will see answers too, which will drive them to engage in a project that needs people. They will also look for unusual technical solutions to theses problems because of their interdisciplinary education.
• Passion: People’s passions is what will drive most things. I am passionate about RPGs, politics, Resource Based Economies, and computer programming and no one pays me for that. Even though I am not paid pursuing those interests I still spend inordinate amounts of time on these areas – such as writing this post! Believe it or not there will be a lot people who will be passionate about any given field of human need, especially as the need for wasteful manual labor jobs are eliminated and their time and brain power can be utilized for things that actually matter and will really make difference in people’s lives.
• Technological and Knowledge Support: People will also be able to freely pursue their passions and solutions to problems because the education and technological support will be available, so nothing should ever stand in their way.

As I have pointed out, with the powerful interdisciplinary education and lifelong access to education, research, and Humanity’s vast knowledge base a highly educated populace will find it hard to not do something useful, so most people will be doing something useful for Humanity for many, many years, especially once automation and AI has taken over the monotonous and boring work of the plethora of soul crushing Bullshit Jobs.

4. Other Methods of Fostering Social Support for Professions in Need

• 8 Philosophical Pillars: The power of the 8 Philosophical Pillars which are mentioned above will help people feel a responsibility for society at large and may have them at least consider learning a profession that is needed if there is a dearth of people in that industry. That, combined with the interdisciplinary education system, can make this a powerful force because they could already have a basic background for diverse spheres of work as well as a holistic responsibility towards Humanity and their needs.
• Social Engineering: Also social support, PSAs, educational programs, and public calls to rally around an industry or project can guide people into needed professions and projects too. 
• Global Community: Each person will have access to the global community and will be able to move freely for work, vacation, or educational opportunities.

5. Competition for Work…

…during the Transitionary Phases?

Naturally, while we are transitioning to a Resource Based Economy, the people living in some places will benefit from a nascent implementation of an RBE. Until a given area’s RBE implementation has reached equilibrium socially and resource-wise, there will be a level of competition until those growing pains have passed in a generation or so.

While those who live in areas where RBE is not being implemented yet will still have to suffer with the horrors of economic systems, poverty, and competition completely just like we do today. =(

…within an RBE?

As we covered above, we need to shift from a competitive value system to a cooperative one. I know that may be hard to imagine with as messed up as our values are currently and how steeped we are in competition, scarcity, and fear, but even within a culture engineered to be more cooperative we will still have differing opinions and ideas, and there will still be some level of competition to be had, but hopefully not to the detriment of progress of society as a whole like we see in today’s world.

People will be taught to find common ground and to work through their differences so they can work together (nonviolent communication and conflict resolution); or those with a differing ideas or where ideas may have radically different advantages they will have the resources available to be able to start their own project to test their ideas and to see if their ideas are better or have specific benefits. If their ideas, after being tested and verified, are better then they should be integrated and used globally where applicable.

There will be competition for work to an extent, due to the rise and fall of demand for work, but with a powerful, global, and universal education system the playing field will be very level. It will most likely come down to:

• Do you even want to work?
• Do you have the appropriate education and certification or are you willing to get it (because education is free)?
• Do you live in the area or are you willing to move there (because moving and housing is free) or can you work remotely?

There is also the potential for someone to create a project of their own to be able to work in or to experiment in their desired field or position if a position is not open in their desired area.

My previous posts on What will an RBE look like sort of covers this in the section titled Wanting to Work on an Aquaponic Farm. There will be an education path, mentorships, apprenticeships, certifications, and so on for all work and interest paths. If a person wants to work in a given industry then they can check their RBE app and see where in the world there is an opening for this position and then they could move there to do that job.

Keep in mind, that there are always going to be people who are more gifted at any given field than someone else, although with a more powerful interdisciplinary education, hopefully we will see more of this since there are more ways to excel in specific and specialized knowledge areas. These people may find they may have more access to work and leadership positions which I cover in my post on Productivity in the Public Recognition section

6. Will Some People be Able to Doing Nothing?

With the ubiquitous implementation of automation, AI, and 3D printing including the automation of the creation of automated factories that create robots, drones, sensors, and other automated entities, the required workforce to make the world work will drop considerably, perhaps even up to as much as 50% or more, so yea, we will hopefully completely eliminate such meaningless, monotonous, and mind-numbing work so Humanity can concentrate on the important work and skills that automation and AI cannot currently do; or, more importantly, to hopefully empower many people with the ability to truly enjoy their lives like they could never imagine in today’s broken system corrupted by monetary systems.

Yes, some people will be doing nothing and you should be very happy that this would finally be possible within Humanity. In today’s world most people have to grind away at meaningless, soul crushing, and unfulfilling work just to get the bills paid and are not able to really take a lot of time off or even consider doing nothing which results in people not really living a life at all – just another cog in the soul-crushing global economic wheel which only benefits the corporations and the rich. And, then they have to do this until they are 65 years old or older only to still die in poverty and with crushing debt and fear. That is not living. That is wage and debt slavery.

In today’s world, life for those who are NOT rich are living from paycheck to paycheck just trying to eke out a living, and just might be able to attempt to go on a real vacation for a few days or possibly even a week in the next few years if they save up enough and sacrifice enough to be able to afford it monetarily and have the vacation time saved up. Currently, doing nothing for any length of time is something that only the rich can do, because they disproportionately have excessive access to resources. services, and technology that we plebes do not have. Inequality is a powerful oppressive force and is the result of exploitation and resource hoarding present within economic systems.

In a Resource Based Economy will some people be able to choose to take long periods off just to enjoy life and pursue things that they enjoy which one might NOT consider work by today’s broken standards? Yes, and that is something that we should all look forward to having access to and to celebrate, because, in today’s world, unless you are rich, your whole family cannot take 6 months off to visit China on historical and cultural tour, or take 2 years off to visit Paris to engage in a French language immersion program. It will be great when we all have access to this for this would be the first time in Humanity’s minute existence where each and every person will be able to actually live fulfilling lives. Everyone should want this.

Also, I do want to dispel this idea that people will have to work themselves to death from 18 years old until they are 65 in order to not end up in a poverty or homeless like we do now. I imagine that most people will put in a decade or two of what could be classified as work. The rest of their lives they may live to their fulfillment which will most likely involve travel, creation, and research, or creative endeavors.

Of course, there will always be those people who are so passionate about their subject that they will work for many, many productive decades, because there are always problems to solve and different ways to solve them. Those driving questions and those long-term problems will always be there taunting those who are passionate in any given field. There is always that next problem or question to be solved or answered, that splinter in their mind, that holy grail of their field, or their lifelong goal.

C. Same Housing?

So, could that person who is “doing nothing” have a house of equal size and quality as the person who was currently working in something that was immediately useful to society? Well, yes, if they both desired so. I fully expect the housing for all of humanity shall fall within certain limits in order to not waste resources, nor to allow any level of excess for any given person:

• No one is going to have a palatial estate or anything in any sort of excess because much will be shared.
• If someone wants communal living then people can do that with others that want that.
• If someone only wants a coffin place because they are soooo busy working and traveling, then they can have that.
• If someone wants to live in an apartment/flat then they can do that.
• If someone wants the maximum allowed in their own house for their family, then they can have that too.

Keep in mind that this person, in Michael’s estimation, who is currently doing nothing right now has previously done something to benefit Humanity in the past or will do so in the future because all of Humanity have universal access to:

• a free high quality and interdisciplinary education
• health care and fitness
• organic and healthy food
• housing
• clothing
• transportation
• internet, computers, AI, 3D printing and various other technologies
• and so much more…

With universal access to all of this, especially education, people will be driven and empowered to doing something useful to Humanity and will have the social values and support to make sure that this is true.

Here is a quick video from Jacque Fresco of The Venus Project Housing (1:53) which talks about housing design within a Resource Based Economy:

Also, here is a post with a collection of images and videos about cities and housing within a RBE:

• The Cities of Tomorrow

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post has put their misconceptions and questions into perspective so we can all be apart of the movement to unite and free Humanity from war and poverty.

When people are free because they have all the resources that they need to live happy and fulfilling lives then they can do just that. This should be the end goal for of all that Humanity does and that is the goal of a Resource Based Economy, none of which could be at all possible in a world corrupted by competition, scarcity, and economic systems as we have seen in the last several thousand years of Humanity’s existence. It is an imperative that we evolve beyond these regressions or Humanity will face definite extinction.