Ideas worth spreading

A socialist perspective on the pursuit of happiness

1,633,907 views |

Aaron Bastani |

TED2022

• April 2022

Several crises are set to define the next century -- but journalist Aaron Bastani believes we have the technological ability to meet our biggest challenges and create unprecedented levels of prosperity for all. He shows how we could get there by ditching capitalism as the world's economic operating system and adopting "universal basic services," where governments would freely provide life essentials like housing, health care, education and transport. (Followed by Q&A with head of TED Chris Anderson and public finance expert Maja Bosnic)

Several crises are set to define the next century -- but journalist Aaron Bastani believes we have the technological ability to meet our biggest challenges and create unprecedented levels of prosperity for all. He shows how we could get there by ditching capitalism as the world's economic operating system and adopting "universal basic services," where governments would freely provide life essentials like housing, health care, education and transport. (Followed by Q&A with head of TED Chris Anderson and public finance expert Maja Bosnic)

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Check out Aaron Bastani's writings on Novara Media

Follow Aaron Bastani on Twitter

About the speaker

Aaron Bastani

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Aaron Bastani covers the issues that will define the 21st century, with a particular focus on how technology affects everything.

Aaron Bastani | Verso, 2020 | Book

Fully Automated Luxury Communism

In this book, I outline the challenges confronting humanity over the 21st century, and the simultaneous emergence of new technologies which will not only mitigate them but make possible new vistas of abundance. Within the book I detail the role of universal basic services, and a form of social democracy (with markets) in navigating our way to a different kind of economic system.

Institute for Global Prosperity | University College London, 2017 | Article

"Social prosperity for the future: A proposal for Universal Basic Services"

The first-ever UK report on the merits of universal basic services and how they can address a range of public policy problems. It also provides an introduction to the idea of universal basic services and why it's preferable to a universal basic income (UBI).

Peter Frase | Verso, 2016 | Book

Four Futures: Life After Capitalism

Equality and hierarchy. Abundance and scarcity. Frase outlines four distinct futures for humanity where each of these intersects. A useful framework to not only speculate about what lies ahead, but also situate recent innovations in the economy — from the emergence of social media platforms to on-demand app-based services — as well as political movements responding to issues like displaced people, climate change and inequality.

Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski | Verso, 2019 | Book

The People's Republic of Walmart: How the World's Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism

Despite the common refrain that planning is bad economics, it is conspicuous in the largest and most successful firms. The likes of Amazon and Walmart use data on a massive scale to plan and coordinate resources across their business, making the most of the digital revolution. But could such forms of planning be democratized, and serve to renew the role of the state?

John Maynard Keynes, 1930 | Article

"Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren"

John Maynard Keynes was no socialist. And yet he believed that by 2030 humanity would have transitioned to something resembling a leisure society. History has proved him wrong, the reason being his assessment of technology and its relationship to politics was flawed. The worst part? It's an assessment which remains the default for many techno-utopians today.

Karl Marx | The Grundrisse, 1857 | Article

"The Fragment on Machines"

Keynes' essay was written in 1930, while Marx's Grundrisse — which includes the so called "Fragment on Machines" — was composed in 1857. Yet while Keynes was proven wrong on the relationship between technology and politics, Marx's more pessimistic assessment has stood the test of time. Why hasn't automation, big data and now deep learning led to more leisure time? A compelling explanation awaits the reader here.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Check out Aaron Bastani's writings on Novara Media

Follow Aaron Bastani on Twitter