What comes to mind when you think of "work"?
This is a term that is a central part of our society. Since we moved from an agricultural economy, work carried with it a certain connotation. In the Industrial Age, it was as a factory worker. Initially, the conditions were horrific as the balance of power resided with management. Over time, the workers were called "labor". As they gain representation, the balance shifted a bit which improved things greatly.
We also witnessed a shift the last 30 years, at least in the Western societies. Here we went from a manufacturing based economy to a service oriented one. Now work carries the meaning of heading to an office. More people are sitting behind desks than are working with their hands. One of the reasons for this is because many blue collar jobs were automated out.
Now, we are seeing the start of another step in automation. This time, it will be the white collar workers that are affected. Software is being produced to streamline tasks within a business environment. Eliminate enough tasks and the workforce gets reduced.
Many organizations are predicting the elimination of tens of millions of jobs in the United States over the next decade or two. Similar forecasts exist for Western Europe. The situation becomes more grim in the third world nations which, believe it or not, are projected to get hit first.
With all these jobs being eliminated, what are people going to do for "work"? This is going to be a severe challenge on a few different levels. The obvious aspect is the financial. How does one makes end meet with a job (just above broke)? More importantly, most people have their identity tied to what they do. When we meet someone new, one of the first questions is usually "so what do you do for work?".
This idea is used by some who are opponents to basic income. They state, incorrectly in my opinion, that people need work for their self worth. Without work, people will not feel like they have a reason for living. What a bunch of bankster programmed horse dung that is.
A person has worth simply because he or she is breathing. Period. End of discussion.
In my mind, this is one of the beliefs that needs changing among people. The banksters created a hierarchical system establishing levels of worth based upon how high up one climbed. This, of course, keeps one motivated to "keep climbing the ladder" (i.e. making the banksters and other elites more money). While the person might get a raise for the effort, the value produced for those at the top is enormous.
This is simply another spin on the "ole Protestant" work ethic.
Go to school, get a good education, work hard, climb the corporate ladder, retire in comfort and live happily ever after. This is the mantra we were fed.
Raise your hand if that is your experience.
In the U.S., more than half the Baby Boomers have not adequately saved for retirement. Wage growth over the last 20 years is almost non-existent. Student loan debt is over $1T meaning the average person in this category is saddled with a small house payment (but without the house).
And all this is before significant automation comes through and wipes out millions of jobs.
What do you think things will look like after that happens?
The bottom line is one simple shift took place that few noticed. It changed the entire basis of how management/ownership and labor interacted. Once this happened, there was no turning back. Now, we are confronted with the prospect of carrying this all the way to the end.
That shift is this: the dependence that capital and labor had on each other is severed.
In the past, for capital to grow, it required the expansion of labor. Today, because of automation, that is no longer the case. We now see capital grow while labor is consolidating in many areas.
It is this one basic fact that negates many arguments which espouse that this time is the same as before. Jobs will not be created in abundance in the future since capital does not require them. In fact, we are in an age where the goal is to increase capital while minimizing the labor cost.
This makes large scale job creation completely impossible.
So what is the answer?
Enter cryptocurrencies.
Utility tokens are the solution to a problem that is unfolding as we speak. The ability for people to earn money without having a "job" is crucial. That does not mean people will not work; it means we will have to view things differently.
I am very candid in my belief that STEEM will be a "nation" with Steemians as citizens. This blockchain has the potential to be a basic piece of people's digital life. Work, play, communication, shopping, and education can all take place on here. We even have a hard fork coming up with a feature called "Communities".
STEEM will be the community many of us immerse ourselves in.
It is in this regard that we need to understand how the view of "work" is to change. People will not be dependent upon one place for their incomes. My belief is that 5 years from now, many people will be earning an assortment of tokens on a monthly basis. We will be paid for many of the activities we presently do for free. This is the basis for the "attention economy". As we know, our attention has extreme value, just we are not the ones getting paid for it. That is going to change.
There will be the temptation to call people lazy, loafers, and deadbeats. This is nothing more than the programming by the elite.
Have you ever noticed how only the rich are allowed to enjoy "leisure"? If a poor person does that, he or she is a free loader even if it is not on the government dime. Once again, our belief system in operation.
STEEM offers each individual who joins the opportunity to contribute, hence be rewarded. Anyone can post, comment, and upvote. For those who are adept at coding, anyone is free to create an application and place it on this blockchain. By the same token, an individual is free to create a website that is tied to this blockchain and accept STEEM as payment.
In other words, there is and will be people earning STEEM in many different ways.
So down the road when someone asks "what do you do", you can simply reply "I am a Steemian".
If that is not sufficient and the issue is pressed, you can say you stand naked in your front yard three times a day wearing only high heels and Mickey Mouse ears while singing Kumbaya.
I found that ends the conversation.
If you found this article informative, please upvote and resteem it.
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The 'rich' are often not really the ones having 'leisure time', most often they work pretty long hours.
in fact steem is my great source of income .. and I earn more money in steemit than in my own work, and steemit for me is like a vice ... I spend 10 hours a day working, trying to publish quality content and make excellent comment .. steemit is my second world ..
@taskmaster4450 - this is another quality post with impressive content. Bravo - upvoted! I had not thought about where Steem and other cryptos fit into the grand scheme of things. You put this in perspective for me. You are correct the nature of work is changing, I would categorize this as "transforming" from one form of work to another. Going from an industrial to service (all based on labor as you said) into an informational/digital work.
The content that's produced on Steemit is every bit as valuable as manual work and even more (I haven't yet seen much ROI yet on Steem, but I am sure I will soon). Keep up the great work- Resteemed!
Steem is a revolution which will alter the entire conception the human history has about work. The earlier we key into this revolution the better for us. And, interestingly, the revolution is unstoppable. Anyone who stands on its way will be crushed.
Love your name @gandhibaba ❤
Wishing you smiles and many blessings
Thanks friend. You've got a nice name too.
Keep smiling my friend 😊😊
Paradigm shift in income earning opportunities from what was obtainable in the past to what we see today should be attributed to the enormous potentials of technology.
Financial technology has enabled people to work from home with great minds and smart technology been put to smart and profitable use.
I so love the quote on steem as a nation with steemians as citizens.
Hahaha!!!...Awesome hard fork
i've been thinking about 'proof of brain' a lot recently. i mean what if my brain stops functioning like it used too. how do i prove me, my words, what am i doing if my brain is no longer proof? do i feel like this is work. .. not in the physical sense but do i feel that i have the ability to communicate and use this as a platform and have the potential for the eyes to give me incentives sure, that is until the AI starts to create WHITE NOISE that we can't tell from the human condition. . .. ;)
maybe just maybe we can get back to our roots of what it means to be human and have a lot of the heavy lifting done by the many blockchains that will make up a person on planet earth.
I have worked outside the home and as a stay at home mom/wife; the only difference? I have more gratification of working from home as a SAHW or SAHM. Granted the PAY is better from an outside job; where you have to pay taxes, etc but the rewards I have been given from being home are better in the aspect of being there for my kids, doing more from the house, providing a healthier atmosphere, etc
Steemit has allowed me to earn, contribute to the platform and some day, to the household retirement fund.
Good article @taskmaster4450 i will stand tall and say im a happy "steemian" i never was any good at singing kumbaya
I would recommend Mana basic income, its simple to set up and the tokens keep rolling into the acount created for me
I gotta start using that one now. So much better than talking about a day job that I despise.
Well that is indeed the dream to be able to become a full time Steemian and build communities and curate good content and police our own so that we can establish the right behaviour and mindset here.
You know me I don't usually drop my links to your post but I wanted to share that I had similar thoughts on this.
https://steemit.com/steemgigs/@maverickinvictus/becoming-a-digital-homesteader-when-steem-is-at-less-than-usd2
As more and more people come in and the influence and use of this platform I wouldn't be surprised that the Steem community becomes a Steem Nation where people buy and sell goods, interact, earn from gigs or from posts that add value to the blockchain.
Steemgigs by @surpassinggoogle is attempting to do that as well as the @steemfreelancers by @thatsweeneyguy who in fact took it a step further and created @steemhouse which will be a live workshop funded by Steemians (I hope I got that right as I am recalling at the top of my head here)
Here in the Philippines we are already trading mobile data load, buying and selling laptops and gadgets for SBD.
I even saw a talk before of having a Steem Church for those who departed and where people can leave eulogies to the dead.
The Blockchain can be an alternative lifestyle that works for a lot of people and is exciting to be part of it.
I bet there will be a lot of attractive girls doing naked live streams on dlive and maybe even singing kumbaya :)))) so your this might not be just sarcasm but actual reality soon :P
I found this article more than informative, I found it to be one of those where you are constantly nodding.
I already make income through “an assortment of tokens” and my aim is to make each of those income streams trickle a little faster.
For a while it was “online marketing” that I thought was going to be the next generations wealth, but now we’ve figured out how to monetize the attention people give us - without them needing to give us money.
I feel like this tarted to take place with people earning money off the internet from places like YouTube. Now, it's like the 2.0 version of that, where no one can take advantage of you now.
Work
Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.
............The result of an action.
Great Ideas @taskmaster4450
I expect steem to be my stress buster Dude, i get that content with just being here and writing my heart out and the best part is you get inspired by hell of talent present out here
about elimination of jobs because of automation...people have very mixed up sayings about that. Some say that this is bringing even more jobs because of evolving and making new tech, others say this will be unsustainable because machines will do all the jobs. I think the truth lays somewhere in between...
Hiii @taskmaster4450, amazing term introduced: "STEEM Is The New Form Of "Work" new generation and coming time is just Cryptocurrency is a job for everyone.
well analysis about the whole scenario. I appreciate and fully support your views.keep it up.
I love your view of the future, and I love the idea of telling people I am a Steemian as my career, it's pretty much what I already do :)
I'm happy to be here as I receive a lot in the form of social rewards, sure I wouldn't be able to support my family on it at the level I'm making financial rewards right now, but I hope that will come in time :)
Take care,
@amymya
@taskmaster4450 Rather than Stand Naked in the Front Yard three times a day is it OK if I wear a Thong ???
Certainly...it is a flexible system...you can amend all you want.
I very much align to this line of thought and agree with your idea that without work, people find no other reason to live.
That's deep!!
Steeming gives one another chance to conveniently touch lives, be oneself, meet people all over, contribute one's intellect towards necessary issues and still earn while at it.
Thanks for this post @taskmaster4450 ...I'm resteeming right away!!
The writers like you need the steemit community. By doing so you can succeed in providing us very good information. I am proud that I am part of this society. I read every article you need. And indeed I responded very much to you and your articles.
I know you can climb the highest mountains. Never lose faith in yourself. Good luck!
All the best for a bright future! May there be success at every turn of life and all your dreams come true!
that's pretty cool to know
Creativity will be highly valued commodity in a new society.
Steem is work for me. I wake up and sleep steeming. Few years from now, truly, many people will have their own offices with different gadgets just to steem. Lol.
I've decided to steem to the moon mehn
I think steemit in particular is very powerful. It rewards people for living their lives and sharing them with others. Everyone has something to offer the world, everyone has their experiences and what they've learned
These are fascinating predictions. I hope we as societies can strike a balance of healthy living despite the shifting definition of work.
so this is why my friend sings that jingle
I loved this post @taskmaster4450, in the US:
Source
I agree with most of what you wrote. When I joined Steemit it made me believe in a utopian society where that 1%-10% of the people who actually love what they do for a living: youtubers, musicians, athletes had a big chance to grow exponentially. This is what draws me to Steemit, this is what I want my family and friends to grasp. Steemit is really revolutionary in any sense, as well as the whole idea of cryptocurrency. I'm all in
I agree with you by using the term "nation". Just today I was thinking that is the right word to describe it.