For decades, human labor has slowly been replaced by machine labor. What were once factories full of people on assembly lines have been reduced to robots that work 24/7 without complaint.
This gradual evolution in the production of goods and services has shifted the workforce into other service industries that automation has yet to replace, and the standard of living for many has been reduced.
This evolution in the workforce creates a conundrum.
Some might ask: if we can do everything with machines, what do we need people for? The problem with the question is that the goods and services being provided require a consumer, and therefore require people. If the economy pushes most people out of the work force, and in turn over time the human population shrinks as a result, that would mean less consumers and less need for automation. The cost of goods and services would rise as a result, making automation less attractive compared to human labor.
The relationship is symbiotic. While some conspiracy theorists are fixated on Bill Gates and the notion that he wants to help reduce the world's population,the reality is that people like him need more customers/consumers, not less. The very technology that has replaced millions of people in the workforce still requires those same people to consume goods and services, otherwise the investment into automation is self-defeating.
This conundrum leaves the powers that be in a position where they have few options. It's possible that people will adapt and come up with new goods and services that allow people to work and earn an income, but given the direction that we're being steered during this pandemic - where small businesses are being targeted for extermination - its likely that the powers that be have already decided our fate.
Because the reduction in population is counter-productive, it's imperative that people be kept alive, healthy and most importantly that people are motivated to consume. In order for consumption to happen in an economy, people need currency of some kind to facilitate trade.
In comes Universal Basic Income. This isn't a new topic, and has been discussed to death on various podcasts and in many works of fiction. UBI isn't the best solution, but rather its the only solution left when there are no alternatives. Automation cannot exist without consumers, but consumers cannot exist without a means to purchase the goods and services that automation provides. Ergo, UBI is inevitable.
Some might argue that it doesn't need to be that way, that we could instead be moving towards a kind of Star Trek utopia where money is abolished and automation creates so much abundance that people's needs are entirely taken care of, allowing people to pursue whatever path in life they want without ever worrying about rent, loans, mortgages, interest payments, economic barriers, etc.
Unfortunately, human nature almost guarantees we won't be moving towards a Star Trek utopia. Money and debt provide a means for control and power. The powers that be likely have no interest in giving up that power. Society functions from top to bottom on a system of debt-based control.
We're moving into strange times, that's for sure. One thing I'm certain of is that conspiracy theories of population control are easily debunked here. This pandemic has proven it. Look back through history at the many pandemics that wiped out hundreds of millions of people. Covid-19 is child's play by comparison, yet the powers that be would kill economies around the world to save a few million people out of billions? It's cute to think that its because they have a conscience and empathy, but given the outcome I think its more likely that they can't afford to lose consumers.
I don't think the shift towards UBI will occur overnight. This pandemic has only sped up the timeline. It will be gradual, probably over the course of the next two decades we'll have completely shifted into a new model. The resistance against this move is strong, despite the very same people profiting off of automation. Eventually we will reach a point where only the very few at the top are able to profit and make gains, and at that point the winds will change. Hardcore conservatives will be disillusioned, many turning to an Amish lifestyle to survive, or migrating to countries that rely on human labor and free markets.
Ultimately, there will be no escape. Go back a few centuries and the Amish decided they wanted nothing to do with progress and valued their freedom above all else. Today a new generation are forming the next Amish-like groups; history repeats. The world progresses onward while some choose not to. While history suggests that we're headed into another period of war, I believe there is a real effort by the powers that be to keep war from happening by any means necessary, if only to maintain a population of consumers.
In that sense our lives as the bottom 99% have more value now then ever before. Since the beginning of recorded time, rulers and leaders have always sent their people to war, to die in combat. Life had little value, and untimely death was certain. Today each of us are like goose that lays a golden egg. We're no longer a liability, we're more valuable alive as consumers. Without us, there's less consumption and less profit.
Food for thought.
Thanks for dropping by. Stay safe.