> What's funny (for some definitions of fun), we will actually need to do that - given how our current economy pushes automation to replace humans everywhere, we can either accept that people should be allowed to live and thrive without having to earn for the living, or we'll see a massive increase of poverty.

Most likely, such a realization will occur, if at all, only after (1) we do see massive increase in poverty, and (2) the people subject to that massive increase in poverty violently demonstrate their displeasure with it, and even then the realization will be far from universal and a matter of lasting controversy.

See, for a historical parallel, how we got from the industrial revolution and how long it took before there was significant effort to provide even basic protection for workers from exploitation. (And how frequently people still argue that some of the basic protections adopted are unnecessary and counterproductive imposition by government on the rights of corporations.)

I would like to ask if you have any hard data or studies that prove your first point, or you just feel that this is indeed the case? The reality is that there is no "we", there is no "economy" that pushes something - there are specific people and groups of people, like governments and corporations. Everyone is "allowed" to live and thrive if you have the means to do it. And being in poverty now has much more benefits to it than being relatively rich 200 years ago.

> Yes, but for the first time ever, we've reached the theoretical capacity to change that.

This has been predicted for at least the past 100 years it seems; I'm not holding my breath on it panning out in my lifetime, so I don't see how it should affect my short-term behavior.

And the way you'd work on implementing that change, would be, wait for it... Make a ton of money, and sponsor relevant research / lobbying efforts.

You definitely won't make it happen by being a fisherman.

We weren't born in a goofy time. We (the people who frequent this board) largely exist in an industry where in certain markets you have enough leverage to some of the worst elements of wage slavery.

But 98% of people on this planet at this time aren't in the same position and even in our industry if you think you are I suspect you'd be surprised how far you can really push your freedom from your bosses will it before you find you've got problems.

So, no one had to obey bosses' commands in previous times?