When was the last time you came across a discussion about a post-scarcity world?
The answer is most likely that you had not heard about it. This is rarely touched upon and the average person has no idea it is taking place. Nevertheless, over the past 20 years it started and is only accelerating.
Before going any further, there is debate what this term "post-scarcity" means. Is it when we achieve the state where nothing is scarce? Or is it the case where most things that are required for daily living are past the stage of scarcity?
Personally, I feel the later is a better representation of what will be taking place.
I often write about the Age of Abundance and this is a world where scarcity is basically eliminated. Since the advent of the Internet, we saw many advancements that pushed us in this direction. Think about what the Internet took over and you will see scarcity was removed.
Information
There was a time when information was scarce. Only a few had access to the world's knowledge base. The average person was obligated to get what he or she could off the evening news, a newspaper, or, if lucky, the encyclopedia.
The barrier to entry in the information field was high. One had to be accepted by the traditional entities which required schooling and a lot of backbreaking work. Even after all that, there was no guarantee success was at hand.
Today, anyone with a smart phone and an Internet connection has access to all the information posted on the web. Each day, it keeps growing to the point where no one person can keep up. Essentially, there is more information than we can consume in a million lifetimes.
Communication
Remember long distance phone bills? How about sitting down and writing a letter which got physically mailed? These use to be the primary methods of communication.
Today, text, Skype, Facetime, instant messenging, and cloud allow for communication with millions of people on a daily basis. Again, most anyone with a smart phone can access these platforms and communicate basically for free.
Pictures, Video, and Music
There was a time when cameras required film. This mean there was a cost to the physical object that went in the camera in addition to the money to get it developed. No more. Once cameras went digital we were able to click as many photos as desired for no additional cost.
In the last 10 years, video went from something we rented on a per film basis to a subscription model. Blockbuster went belly up and Netflix took over. Now, for a nominal fee in the western countries, one can watch 168 hours of programming a week if so desired.
Video and music production soared with the likes of YouTube which offers people a place to watch "amateur" productions for free. Like with information, we are to the point where more is being added each day than one can consume in an entire lifetime.
This is not something that is going to stop either. The world is becoming digitized meaning we are going to see abundance at every turn.
So what are some of the technologies that will move us further down the road?
Holograms
Screens require resources. We live in a world of screens today. Even at the filling station, there is a screen on the pump with adverts running. Over the next decade, we will see this disappear.
Holograms or some type of projection will be what we are viewing. Think of Jarvis in the Iron Man films when Holograms were put up instead of being on a screen.
If it is combined with breakthroughs in the materials field, we could see these "built" in to our walls and countertops. Maybe they will not really be projections as much as "smart paint".
Lab Grown Meats/Vertical Farming
Why grow the entire cow when you can just grow the steak?
Stem cell technology is changing the food game. There are many projects that are focusing upon lab grown meats. This is starting to change the face of ranching.
We also see "farms" that are climate controlled and build upward instead of outward. This enables the food production to be controlled which is already netting greater crop yields.
Climate controlled means we can grow the same food in Northern Russia or the Sahara Desert.
Water
A large portion of the planet is covered with water. The problem is that most of it is not drinkable. Clean up and desalinization are slow and expensive. This could come down over time.
However, forget all that. How about simply taking the water out of the air? Atmospheric water harvesters are being worked upon. Some futurists are projecting that the first city in the world will get 100% of its water in this manner within 10 years.
Money
Cryptocurrency is offering a pathway out of the Age of Scarcity. The present system operates on this principle so that the few can control the bulk of the resources. Moving to a economic basis that allows for individual money creation really changes how things are going to be operated and financed.
Labor
Labor is going to be automated. This means a great deal of our production will come from non-humans. We are already seeing progress being made in the construction industry which is experiencing a global shortage of workers.
Our manufacturing world is about to get upended with the penetration of 3D printers. This will present the opportunity for custom-designed products catering to the individuals. We will also see manufacturing shift to a regional basis as compared to international. Printing shops are going to be located in every city/town to produce most of what is needed.
Of course, at some point these devices will be in one's house also.
Energy
This is still up in the air but we are seeing a transition towards a world of renewable energy or an abundance of it. Vehicles are starting to see a shift away from fossil fuel towards electric and hydrogen. Wind, solar, and geo-thermal are all making progress around the world.
The big bear of them all is something that was reported to be a about a decade away for half a century. Nevertheless, we are being shown that nuclear fusion start to roll out in the next decade or so.
Raw Materials
Obviously, one of the drawbacks to all this is the fact that there are only a certain amount of materials which we can create products from.
One of the advantages to 3D printing (or whatever technology follows it) is we are also going to have recyclers. This means that the material used to construct the outfit you wear one day is broken down at day's end and then produced as something else the next.
These are just a few of the ideas that are circulating out there which can come to fruition in the next decade or two.
With the accelerating nature of things, we could see a lot more digitization over the next decade which will eclipse what took place in the last 30 years.
We are truly moving towards a world that could be, for the most part, post-scarcity.
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