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Is There a Future for Money?
In our digital age, where banks and even nations fail through reckless monetary spending and policies, it seems that our monetary system is becoming the big elephant in the room, yes even obsolete. Automation replacing humans seems to be one of the fundamental contradiction of capitalism and may be the demise of the system itself leaving the looming possibility of fascism or military dictatorship to arise and flourish if we fail to arrive at any alternatives.
While some believe taking us back to the gold standard will fix things, and others believe that debt forgiveness is the solution, we hear talks about access/resource based economies, where we simply declare all of Earth's resources as the common heritage of mankind and make goods and services available to all without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude, through technological abundance.
In fact, let's rephrase the question. At what point in the future do you think that our technology will make automated systems possible and allow us to move out of a monetary system?
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Suketu Shah
i agree that capitalism has put an end but not everywhere in the world...if you look at the world population verses number of people still leave below poverty line, i am sure it would come more than 60%.....but in any case i didn't meant hunger issue as important than other issues....i tried to make more emphasis on - each human on this plant should get basic necessity to live and thereby whatever resources on our plant would be utilised in a manner which balances every aspect of human life as well as animal & other life. food is just one part but more than food and hunger, it is something else which i feel is important & thats the point which could change the pattern of thinking of all decision makers in all nation unanimously.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
more in this TED talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_at_state.html
Mats Kaarbö 10+
Get your facts straight. Before industrial complexes, and the monetary system with it, infiltrated the larger part of Africa, the inhabitants had an abundance of natural resources that feed, sheltered and provided the Africans with everything they needed. Now, that the monetary system is fully installed, people have to pay for their own natural abundant resources they had available for free before. And with little or no education, Africans only get slavery wages that is a result of being exploited by big business in the West. On top of that, the previous clean water systems that the Africans had is and has been for a long time being contaminated by the same industrial complexes that settled their industries there for profit reason. Go globalization!
To prove my point, a World Hunger Education Service report (http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm) "revealed" that "the world produces enough food to feed everyone. World agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day according to the most recent estimate that we could find. The principal problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, enough food."
The root problem to all human suffering is our current socioeconomic system. It's the way we allocate our resources, through the money/price/profit system, which causes all the poverty.
If you fail to see that, I highly recommend you reading up on how automation and technology can provide the necessities of life and a high standard of living to all by reading the book "The Best That Money Can't Buy".
John Smith 30+
"usd 11k is still luxury. ppp is there to adjust for local price levels. but we don't have to worry about that too much, just look around. poor people in the US has air conditioning, car, 1000 sq ft house/flat, flat TV, microwave, smartphone and such things."
When you make $11k in the US you sure as hell don't have 1000sq ft house (unlike many rural families in India living off $2 per day), a flat tv is cheaper than a non-flat one these days (and again, many people in the third world have a tv), people making 11k rarely have a smartphone, they can afford less education and health care than a Brazilian making 6k and they are often in debt.
John Smith 30+
I wasn't aware North Korea and Cuba housed two billion people... Africa and India are capitalistic.
"the US poverty line is a bad joke. 21600 USD per year is a freaking luxury! "
The official US poverty line is $11k for a single person and you can't just compare that to other countries because in some countries the real estate bubble is more inflated than in others, among other things.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
usd 11k is still luxury. ppp is there to adjust for local price levels. but we don't have to worry about that too much, just look around. poor people in the US has air conditioning, car, 1000 sq ft house/flat, flat TV, microwave, smartphone and such things.