Mastodawn

Joshua Barretto Aug 16, 2023

It occurred to me today that the social value of the open-source work I do in my free time has probably been an order of magnitude more useful to the world than everything I've ever done as a paid employee. Needing to seek a wage almost certainly makes me a less productive member of society than I would otherwise be.

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HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴Aug 16, 2023

@jsbarretto

a perfect case in point for #UBI (Universal Basic income)

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tshepang Aug 18, 2023

@HistoPol @jsbarretto that and universal basic services

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HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴Aug 18, 2023

@tshepang
I would need to give this idea some more thought.

You see, if a service does not cost anything at all, there tends to be waste and abuse.

If everyone is given a basic income to cover their (basic) needs, this would solve that problem too, don't you think?

In any event, public goods should be held by a (non-corrupt) state and not by private citizens or corporations (e.g. water rights).

@jsbarretto

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Joshua Barretto Aug 18, 2023

@HistoPol @tshepang I think this is a common misnomer. When it comes to basic services, it's rare that they're abused. In the UK, healthcare is free at the point of use but nobody goes for a jolly down to the local hospital. Similarly, almost nobody does the same for food banks, social benefits, etc. without good reason. I don't think that humans actually behave like classical economics would suggest (i.e: as cynical min-maxers who will readily take over the needs of others).

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Joshua Barretto

@HistoPol @tshepang And this is *especially* true in societies with strong social cohesion, trust, and less inequality. One of the most striking things to me about visiting the Scandinavian nations was how much everybody cares for public and communal resources (at least, compared to the UK). Folks genuinely seem to understand the value of respecting and maintaining that stuff because everybody feels like they have a stake in it and that they're benefiting from it.