This sort of thing was attempted many times in the 60s and 70s. They tended to devolve into the kind of petty authoritarianism you see in homeowners associations, then chaos, then nothing.
So we need to build an economic model that allows people to truly be independent of one another, so we’re not dependent on one another to survive anymore. 🤔 That could be doable with today’s technology, certainly with near-future stuff
I highly recommend the documentary series All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace by Adam Curtis. He outlines connections between applications of computer technology, Rand’s Objectivism, Alan Greenspan’s influence on economics, and techno-utopian ideas, especially through the 70s, 80s and 90s. A lot of it is the groundwork for today’s big tech companies and the current state of the economy. Episode 2 addresses the attempts at intentional communities directly.
So we need to build an economic model that allows people to truly be independent of one another, so we’re not dependent on one another to survive anymore.
This is functionally impossible. We are all interdependent and the direction of technology development and international trade has made this ever more true. A great example is Thomas Thwaites’ attempt to build a toaster from scratch (a relatively simple, inexpensive consumer product requires a very complex trade and manufacturing infrastructure to bring into existence).
And personally, I would argue that it is the wrong direction, and the wrong intention. Rather than trying to divest ourselves of interdependence, we should be acknowledging it and recognizing cooperation and mutual assistance as the true power of human society. We are all in this thing together.
Ultimately, you can’t solve social problems with technology.
So we need to build an economic model that allows people to truly be independent of one another, so we’re not dependent on one another to survive anymore. 🤔 That could be doable with today’s technology, certainly with near-future stuff
I highly recommend the documentary series All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace by Adam Curtis. He outlines connections between applications of computer technology, Rand’s Objectivism, Alan Greenspan’s influence on economics, and techno-utopian ideas, especially through the 70s, 80s and 90s. A lot of it is the groundwork for today’s big tech companies and the current state of the economy. Episode 2 addresses the attempts at intentional communities directly.
This is functionally impossible. We are all interdependent and the direction of technology development and international trade has made this ever more true. A great example is Thomas Thwaites’ attempt to build a toaster from scratch (a relatively simple, inexpensive consumer product requires a very complex trade and manufacturing infrastructure to bring into existence).
And personally, I would argue that it is the wrong direction, and the wrong intention. Rather than trying to divest ourselves of interdependence, we should be acknowledging it and recognizing cooperation and mutual assistance as the true power of human society. We are all in this thing together.
Ultimately, you can’t solve social problems with technology.