Sci

The older I get the more I am convinced that all forms of progress are only possible when we have free time. That is, when we are able to spend effort on things not essential to our immediate survival. We need to have spare resources to be able to risk spending them on something uncertain.

The main indicator of this to me is how the more pressure people are under to work just to survive, the less able they are to devote their energies to social or personal improvement.

Nov 10, 2018 at 9:38pmWeb
Show threadSciNov 10, 2018
To be accusatory, it suggests overwork is not just in support of the current systems, but a method of social control in an of itself.
Show threadrobNov 11, 2018
@Sci oops. I replied to your first post before reading your second. I'm quite sure overwork is a method of control.
Show threadRuss SharekNov 10, 2018

@Sci

Creativity of all kinds needs this unstructured time.

Show threadKateNov 10, 2018

@RussSharek @Sci

Community also needs people to have some time when they are not working.

Our small town is being rapidly transformed by a renovation boom that is servicing wealthy commuters from Sydney. Older homes are being knocked down and designer townhouses are springing up.

All these newcomers are working flat out to pay their giant mortgages.

Show threadKateNov 10, 2018

@RussSharek @Sci

But just quietly, the community garden is also flourishing, like grass that won't give in to concrete.

Show threadPranav Nov 11, 2018
@Sci I believe the answer to this lies in Universal Basic Income
Show threadSciNov 11, 2018

@pranav
It's certainly a way of releasing the immediate pressure a bit. @shel made a good case however for why it could also be used to extend the life of an ideologically flawed system.

There may be better options we have not yet considered.

Show threadShel For The PublicNov 11, 2018
@Sci @pranav not sure if it's ideologically flawed so much as fundamentally flawed due to how math and economics work but yes
Show threadrobNov 11, 2018
@Sci is this not intentional on the part of the owners of production. The less free time we have, the less we might think about changing the system.
Show threadSven 🛌Nov 12, 2018

@Sci I've read about a study concerning farmers. They are literally dummer (less IQ score) before the harvest than after, because they worry so much about not getting enough in to survive for another year. After a successful harvest, they almost immediately get smarter.

Another study with farmers found that they were able to make better long-term decisions when they have the money from the harvest and a lot worse long-term decisions when they're almost broke before the next one.