Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mit-athena.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mit-athena!yba From: yba@mit-athena.ARPA (Mark H Levine) Newsgroups: net.philosophy Subject: Re: Drifting sideways into economics Message-ID: <204@mit-athena.ARPA> Date: Tue, 10-Jul-84 20:45:59 EDT Article-I.D.: mit-athe.204 Posted: Tue Jul 10 20:45:59 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 12-Jul-84 01:10:59 EDT References: <4039@utzoo.UUCP> Organization: MIT, Project Athena, Cambridge, Ma. Lines: 26 You make some bold assumptions. One is that we would try to parcel out thinking work to people unsuited for it. Not likely. Also, there may come a time when there is no work to be given out--automation achieves the limiting case--what then? Another is that many people have a job they want and can take pride in. I think you and I are lucky to be in this category, but we do work in ivory towers. Join a factory labor union for a while or take a job with some clerical arm of the US Gov't for a year and tell me if you still feel release is doing something terrible to people. Last, I think it implicit in your statements that things we would do without compensation from a "job" are valueless. I submit there are some, valueless in real economic terms, that would still improve the quality of life--sport, art, zen meditation if you like. The assertion that we have nothing better to do with life than whatever work is available is very pessimistic; I place more faith in human spirit. I want to work on a two-man spacecraft and look at the crab nebula close up before I die--to hell with the weekly status report! Other opinions? -- yba%mit-heracles@mit-mc.ARPA UUCP: decvax!mit-athena!yba