Whether big or small. We all have that one thing from Scifi we wished were real. I’d love to see a cool underground city with like a SkyDome or a space hotel for instance.
Post scarcity society
As long as shareholder value is the number one thing it just cant happen.
OP says, “with our current current level of technology.”
We have the technology to overcome any logistics issue pertaining to eliminating scarcity (and by extension, poverty). What we lack is the societal structure.
so kill the shareholders, then they won’t care about their value.
This is what frustrates me because in theory yes, you’re right. But in reality those shareholders are not who you think they are. Many of them are your relatives through 401k and RRSP managed funds.
What I’m getting at is it would be great to Luigi a bunch of billionaires but the reality is the problem is systemic and no amount of murder is going to solve that.
We go back to the Levellers and the Diggers. My gut tells me we are going to everyone screaming for change ultimately get what they want which is someone will be beheaded but then in the aftermath you all have no fucking plan and guess what? In a few years we are going to be right back here again.
I hope I’m wrong, but history has a way of repeating the same beats over and over again.
Technically, you don’t know that. /s
We could be solarpunk. Like, right now. With everything using clean energy and plants everywhere.
That would be so nice.
Socialized healthcare. A living minimum wage. UBI.
A permanent base on the moon. We should have had that 40 years ago, minimum.
The moon base (and/or moon orbit base) isn’t just cool, it would facilitate building ships in space that don’t have to escape the gravity well. That and asteroid mining (to get materials for ship building) would be such a huge step to having a real presence off-planet.
Mine materials on asteroids, send them to the moon refinery and manufacturing facility, send parts up to lunar orbital ship building facility, send ships to Europa, Ganymede, etc.
Madness!!
THAT’S COMMUNISM
Socialism technically, but I get your sarcasm. I hope it is sarcasm.
Well they did say Sci-Fi and we all know how likely that stuff is. So I think we’re “safe” with Late Stage Capitalism.
The technology has never been what is holding us back.
we’re commies on the moon, we carry a…
Hemp as a replacement for plastics and synthetic materials. Food packaging shouldn’t have a longer shelf life than it’s contents.
Sunchips was using PLA, which is a step in the right direction.
Ah yes … The Thunderbags™… You were not sneaking any snacks around those things.
Telemetry free consumer products would be nice
I’m on board with ethical and opt-in telemetry. Knowing how your users interact with your app is very useful, but not many companies can show restraint when money is involved.
If my data was used to refine and improve the products and services I interact with I’d be fine with it but as it stands it’s just used to help make my life hell and exploit my existence for cash.
100% this. Telemetry and market research are fine. Hell Some opt in, totally 100% disableable targeted ads are fine as long as they’re not excessive and in the way. Flagrant selling of info however, does not spark joy.
Fair point. Ethical opt-in seems alright
the end of scarcity. that’s a totally bogus concept that capitalism uses to keep the rich in power. we produce far more than the whole of humanity would need to feed and cloth themselves, and we have more houses empty than there are families. we could end poverty right now, we just choose not to.
Well more accurately, some of us did chose that for the whole of us
you got me there. there’s plenty of us who would love to see everyone get a fair share.
Not just capitalism, but all forms of corrupt, greedy governments.
which are all capitalist, thank you for agreeing with me.
I think you might be mistaken if you think that corruption and greed are exclusive to capatalist societies. Yeah, it’s rampant in captialism, but it can be present in any type of economic system. Greed and corruption are a human trait, not an economic one.
At no point did I even give the barest, most minute, even microscopic hint that corruption and greed were exclusive to capitalist societies. So I would not, in fact, be mistaken about anything I said.
The whole “we have plenty of housing if only the greedy capitalists would give it to us” claim is very much false. Empty homes are typically empty for a reason. They are being remodelled, or are searching for new renters, or have been condemned, or are in a legal limbo of some sort, etc. The idea that rich people are buying homes en masse and then keeping them empty makes no sense, since they would make more money by buying those homes and then renting them - then they get appreciated home values and rent money to warm their cold, capitalist hearts.
What is actually happening is far more mundane: people are moving to more desireable areas, and are choosing to live in smaller households. A two bedroom home that used to house mom and dad and Jack and Jill in their bunk beds now houses only Jill, plus her home office. And you can’t force Jill to take in a homeless man as a roommate, at least not in a democratic society.
The idea that rich people are buying homes en masse and then keeping them empty makes no sense
Yeah, which is why Zillow’s house flipping business was a disaster and they’ve backed out of doing that. Capitalism does not make sense, you’re absolutely right, and unfortunately we’re at the tail end of its collapse so we get to deal with the last gasps of a system that never made sense, was never sustainable, and prioritized short-term profits over long term financial stability.
None of that changes the fact that we don’t live in a world where people need to be homeless because we can’t house them. Nor do they need to be hungry because we can’t feed them. And the only thing holding us back from feeding and housing everyone is mindsets like yours, where you’re so stuck in the old way of doing things because that’s all you’ve ever known that you can’t even imagine a better world. The funny fucking thing about that is there used to be a time when nobody could imagine a world without kings and emperors, but guess what? Just like the power of kings, the economy is a fantasy. We made it up, it’s a bunch of nonsense rules, and at any time we can just decide not to listen to that bullshit.
And before you start in with any “what abouts” or other nonsense, consider for a second that you’re simping for a wholly imaginary system that has no basis in reality or a physical existence, and also that I do not care to listen to your brain react with shock and horror at the idea of things being different.
Goodbye, and good day.
Post capitalism.
We have automation for so much manufacturing. We have solar energy which is basically free after manufacture. We could spend a fairly small amount of time really working towards automating most resource extraction and processing.
We could have a really good standard of living not just in the west but globally and we could in the process resolve the threats of climate change but instead we have billionaires.
I think if we had the tech to make replicators (Trek), we would easily be able to go full on post-cap, as that would essentially end hunger, our over extraction of earth’s resources, landfills, recycling, people not being able to afford basics like groceries, etc. I think we have the capability to do that now without that tech, but as a species, lack the will and compassion.
From what I have read there is no physical reason that we could not all have a reasonable standard of living right now with no extra technology. The reason for poverty is not a scarcity if resources, it is a distribution problem. Some people take too much and use systems like law and governance to enforce their relative position. Ditching individual wealth would solve most of the issues which prevent a good life for everyone. Being as most wars are ultimately about wealth and the same for borders it would be revolutionary.
I think a moon colony was possible at minimum the mid 90’s. I only think bureaucracy got in the way along with a very stunted space shuttle.
There is also the cost.
The American program to go to the Moon cost several percentage points of American GDP over several years to get there. The USA could have physically had a moon base up there, but it would have been wildly expensive.
I will agree there. But the mining and manufacturing potential is rather insane. We could make money back rather quickly.
Agreed, a lot of sci-fi infastructure is technically feasable its just the logistics and our lack of organisation as a species that gets in the way. We could also technically start on a dyson swarm and a lunar space elevator (not an earth one though) with modern technology and materials.
I’m glad to see that we are moving forward with it, I just would rather it not be by Elon. But he has the tools to get it done.
Roof-top gardens everywhere! Like the launch arcologies in SimCity 2000. They looked cool as fuck.
Plants on buildings bring some architectural and safety challenges, depending on how large they are. You need to somehow get dirt and water up, and the dirt can be pretty heavy. If something falls down into the ground it could hit someone and injured them. And also, with time, roots could lessen the structural integrity of a building.
No doubt, but I love the aesthetic
If you love underground, the world is your rooftop garden!
Arcologies.
Dense housing with good soundproofing, atop commercial space, in a walkable neighborhood.
Wouldn’t need rent control if there was more houses.
This. This is the solar punk dream.
Add a rooftop patio or gardening setup and I might cream my jeans
Walkable cities are sOcIaLiSm!
Except the arcologies part, that’s not even sci-fi, it exists across east asia.
Abolishing the concept of money. Probably won’t happen but it would be pretty cool.
Money is a useful idea, and useful ideas are notoriously hard to kill.
I can see replacing cash with transfers but not removing currency entirely, but that’s my POV. What would you replace it with instead?
What would you replace it with instead?
Nothing. Humanity as a whole would have to evolve past the carrot and stick mentality for this to work. That’s why I said it probably won’t happen 😅
A moonbase.
Library economy.
Socialism
Augmented reality overlaying historical photos and 3d models so you can literally see history as your walking.
Imagine being able to visit The White City that was built for the World’s Fair in Chicago. Or seeing New York before sky scrapers dominated the landscape.
While you’re admiring a building which was there in 1925, you get run over by a car which is there in 2025.
Or “blink twice to unlock a 2 hour view of this building for
59,9958,99! Limit time offer only.”
I think your idea is beautiful.
I think your idea is beautiful.
