Here is my pick for one of the best REPLIES I've ever read on DU

[inanna]

90. Welcome to DU.

I think it is the fear of any kind of meaningful progress that keeps us stuck in the current system - which is simply not working for the vast majority.

To quote woo me with science (yet again): "We are not "workers". <<< True, this. Nor are we simply "consumers." We are people first.

I suppose my thinking on the topic kinda goes like this: what if our most basic needs were met, and we worked to earn the things we want? Most people would still work to achieve those wants - whatever they might be: vacations, electronics, etc.

The difference would be that employers would not be holding all of the cards. The people would truly have the power in a system like this - and would work as they wanted, when they wanted - depending on their own life goals.

Employers would have to offer real incentives to attract any prospective employee; like decent wages and benefits for starters - even without the bargaining power of unions.

No, I rather suspect that in a system like this, jobs would be more plentiful - and quite possibly more meaningful. In a society where a healthy work/life balance is the norm, people would not need to work nearly as much. But they would still work.

True, many find the idea of "idleness" a bit distasteful. But raising children is "work." Tending a backyard or community garden is "work." Volunteering in the community is "work." I would submit that any of these modes of "work" add more value to our society than many of the menial jobs people are forced to do now, simply in order to survive.