An Alternative To UBI (Universal Basic Income)

My idea was inspired by a website I stumbled on that was advocating for energy as currency. Now, the arrogant site URL aside, the idea is admittedly quite innovative. Of course, UBI is talked about as something for eventual use and this is the same future tense that my idea takes.

1) Most people don't care how rich the top .1% is, at least not until it starts affecting them personally - which it's starting to. However, my system is not inherently against wealth.

2) Because it takes place at a future date, I don't think you will care much about people benefiting from your labor. Human labor is headed for a steep decline, and when it comes to intellectual property all the creator really wants is credit. Surely you would want someone to benefit from the gadget you invented, even if they can't afford the "rights" to it?

As for the second part of your question, I think it's easy to prove that homeless people and those on benefits are largely self-motivated. The problem is that they don't have the tools necessary to show their work ethic, and thus their lifestyle devolves into poor nutrition, sedentary misery and abysmal drug abuse. SOME people are just lazy, but this is social conditioning that would take only modest effort to revert. Everyone is born naturally curious and driven - it is hiccups in the system that lead people to be lazy, not spontaneous personal decision making.

So, I think in the future sedentary, unproductive lifestyles will be seen more as psychological illnesses rather than selfish lifestyles.

That's all I can think to say right now. You can probably tell I haven't thought this out too much... but I think it's an interesting alternative nonetheless.

/r/Futurology Thread Parent