"

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century.

Lily Sloane: No money? You mean, you don't get paid?

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity. Actually, we're all like yourself and Dr. Cochrane.

"

sama asks, "What can startups do to increase prosperity for everyone?" It's a good question. I think one answer that is not limited to startups, but applies to everyone, is to spread the idea and ideals that embody an egalitarian, post-scarcity, society. Star Trek happens to be an entertaining depiction. It doesn't have much in the way of details when it comes down to it, but it embodies the ideas and values of an egalitarian, post-scarctiy, existence where people don't just sit around all day playing video games, but work to better themselves and the rest of humanity.

Giving people money isn't enough. We need to also promote and live a set of values that will compliment Basic Income. We need to free ourselves from the fear of survival, but we must have the proper mindset and environment to ensure a successful freedom.

So, startups, invent replicators[1] so we can move to a post-scarcity economy and everyone, spread the word that it's time for our society to evolve so we can garner the support required for instituting Basic Income.

I completely agree with sama when he says, "I’m fairly confident that at some point in the future, as technology continues to eliminate traditional jobs and massive new wealth gets created, we’re going to see some version of this at a national scale." Thus this experiment is less about whether Basic Income is a good idea, and more about how to ensure that it is a good idea and implemented successfully. I think you really need to pay attention to perceptions and societal values which requires education (plenty of startup activity here).

1. Spread the word

2. Invent replicators [2]

3. Get the messaging, education, values, mental models, etc right

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicator_(Star_Trek)

[2] Half joking, but serious.

[3] I'll try to update this comment as thinking clarifies as this topic is so large it's overwhelming.

[4] My other comment about Basic Income hopefully helping to resolve poor incentives: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10985443