Tecno Tecnonaut
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

I shall go and find you on G+, which, despite the criticisms it gets, is still my favorite social media platform. You raise a good point about the non financial aspects of work, many of which, I feel, are based on current social constructs. Or memes. The food stamps example is a good one. Socially, there is a popular meme that it is somehow shamefull to not be working, or even worse, to accept some kind of benefit whilst not working. And it is that desire to be socially accepted that is what makes memes like this so destructive. A person could well find themselves in a worse position simply to maintain a social appearence, based on that false sense of shame, for not being in work. The other negative of this is that employeers can take advantage of this and push pay and conditions down. After all, the stigma of not working will force people to take any job, at any price.

I too support the notion of universal income, but, under the current economic model and with memes like libertarianism, I wonder how it would be both funded and manipulated. The UI has to come from somewhere, we can’t just print the money as that will have inflationary effects. Plus, would it just be used by employeers to reduce wages further? Or, would it be set at such a low level it just becomes pocket money? In the longer run though, I support it mainly because I see it as a step towards a society that does not use money any more. UI would show how artificial money is, and that it is in essence a really inefficient middle man in resource allocation. But, that’s a huge discussion in and of itself!

You are right that the world of work as we know it will be changing dramatically. And society would be well placed to develop new ideas and memes to cope with this now, rather than later. The really hard task is addressing the memes we use now, like dignity through work. And on that note, I look forward to seeing where your new venture goes in changing work practices for the better..

    Tecno Tecnonaut

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    I play techno, take photographs, and am currently part way through a Masters by Research scheme looking at forecasting methods. I also have a cat……