quotEnsemble #17
—The End of Work, Technology and a world where we can Just Be

“Imagine a world in which most people worked only 15 hours a week. They would be paid as much as, or even more than, they now are, because the fruits of their labor would be distributed more evenly across society. Leisure would occupy far more of their waking hours than work. It was exactly this prospect that John Maynard Keynes conjured up in a little essay published in 1930 called “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren.” Its thesis was simple. As technological progress made possible an increase in the output of goods per hour worked, people would have to work less and less to satisfy their needs, until in the end they would have to work hardly at all. Then, Keynes wrote, “for the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem—how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy the leisure, which science and compound interest will have won for him, to live wisely and agreeably and well.” He thought this condition might be reached in about 100 years—that is, by 2030.”

In Praise of Leisure by Robert Skidelsky and Edward Skidelsky—June 2012

“So we’ll all forget about money, sit around and make art, and tell each other stories, while computers handle all the problems of the world. Why not?

Computers are already replacing folks with those shitty industrial revolution jobs. People say, what are they going to do? Like there’s a crisis - We’ve got to find something to keep all the unemployed busy. What are they going to do, dig ditches? Why don’t they make art? Of all the reasons to live, and participate in society, having a voice ranks higher than performing manual labour at the bottom of the skill set.

What’s important is that a broad range of people have access to the technology.  If the world is split into those that are wired, and those that aren’t, we will continue to walk the razor’s edge of revolution and civil strife. If, on the other hand, we welcome the previously disenfranchised into the information age, and give them a voice along with ours, we can use this technology to unite the world —not in vying for market share, but with stories and art, celebrating the human experience.”

Justin Hall in “Decentralizing media for human potential”—June 13, 1995

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“When we, as a group decide that we want to apply our wisdom and solutions for human benefit and not for profit, then we will all have enough of whatever thing we need, and no need to compete out of fear of scarcity of what is available. This will remove the pressure from our lives, and allow for more “being”, which will then naturally yield us to want to create better solutions. We will be able to share ideas and inventions, with no need to hide it or patent it.

And, it is exactly when we share our solutions, for the benefit of all, that we begin to realize our true potential.

This is the moment to step back, regain some clarity about who we truly are and what we are able to do and, create a healthy and balanced world. A reality where we will use our collective consciousness, technology, ingenuity, creativity and solutions for what we are supposed to use them for: to give humans everything they need so we can just ‘Be’.”

Carla in “Like colored stitches in one same tapestry“—May 2010