Dagoth Ur wrote:The fuck is postcapitalism?
Something either very good or very, very, very, very bad.
The basics- capitalism is based entirely on progress, technologically, and that means that- at some point in its future- it will lead to a Technological Singularity. This is the point where capital- machines- match the intelligence and dexterity of humans. Once this is achieved, you also meet the Capital Singularity, where it becomes more profitable to use a machine proletariat rather than a human proletariat for at least 60% of the economic output (we're absolutely no where
near that level right now because machines aren't smart and machines can't replicate human touch).
When this happens, robots
have to replace human workers, according to capitalism. If you're a true capitalist, you agree with a profit incentive, and going with the less profitable humans is not profitable. If you stay with humans or return to them, you risk stagnating capitalistic economies, especially in liberal societies, which could then cause massive depression.
If it hasn't already occurred. With the proletariat now rendered the
ex-proletariat, the class divide widens dramatically- in some theories. The consumer base collapses completely. There is no supply and demand because the demand can't afford the supply. The producers are superhuman and work for the rich, who are now solely the consumers. Now the rich get a moneyless society, for all their goods and services are met by the machine proletariat. The poor? To hell with the poor. In fact, in this era, the rich can finally get rid of us because we're officially useless. We could be the bitches of transhumanism, our minds and memories wiped and forced to follow a 1984-esque dystopia, never knowing or being allowed to know anything different while the uber-rich become physical gods.
OR- and this is big OR- the rich could (or we could force them to) offer massive welfare to prevent a horrific purge of the poor. No one group of people would get all the benefits. To be fair, we'd need equal welfare, and with the potentially infinitely more efficient machine proletariat working for us (and artilects thinking for us, alongside transhumanism bettering us), humanity could then move on to a better, higher, successfully communistic state of existence.
The biggest selling point being that money will become entirely based upon digital value- meaning physical value behind objects becomes meaningless. This gold bar I wish I was holding? It's worth nothing. What it's worth digitally- what I can change it to, for example, with sufficiently advanced nano- and femto-technology- is what makes it worth something. This leads to something I've dubbed "transcommunism," where all value is held by digital goods, and everyone has equal access to digital goods. The earliest stages of this? The Internet.
So if we go down the socialist timeline, we workers would never have to work in the first place. I envision liquid metal machines being the big thing in the future- far better than our pathetic capitalist 'pivot and hinges, blocks of steel' robots of 1950s lore- and do you honestly think your feeble hands are better than atomically accurate intelligent atoms? Add in some transhumanism, and voila. Which is why we could definitely be doin' some evolvin' in the next few centuries.
The paradox of Postcapitalism some capitalists have asked, "Well how do we stop this and keep free markets free, liberty, individualism and incentive?"
Good-ass question with a great-ass answer.
You don't.No matter what happens, capitalism will either become communism, or fall to communism. The point where it becomes possible to circumvent postcapitalism as to prevent it, you'd have created either communism or fascism. AKA- you want to keep your free markets from now until the year 5,000? Become a Luddite and go Amish. Otherwise, welcome to our ultra-high tech communist society or a totally plutocratic/mechanocratic society. No way out. Capitalism has essentially defeated itself by its very nature being what leads to communism. One way or another.
In laymen's terms, robots take our jobs and either the rich kill us all and hoard the greatness for themselves, or we become a futuro-communist super civilization. And thanks to capitalism's nature, this is the only thing that can happen, barring global revolution in the next 20 years. Or total annihilation of the human race. And from there, we could get
transcommunism, but that's another story.
Sounds like sci-fi, but it has actually already in its infant stages, what with increasing robot dexterity, already very early stages of artificial intelligence, and the Internet itself. Common sense dictates that capitalism leads to this, and- unless you figure artificial intelligence possible, or you've been successfully brainwashed by propaganda-empire Hollywood to hate and fear artificial intelligence- it's the only thing we can do unless a massive retroactive revolution rips across the planet.
Otherwise, this will begin... according to estimates... by around 2040, 2050... Give or take a few decades, but definitely within this century. Unless the stated above happens, or our corporate kings keep us proles back long enough with their ineptitude. Oop... I probably shouldn't have said that on the Internet. I already feel a government monitor's web bot tracking my information!
The point of postcapitalism is, what happens when robots take all our jobs? It's currently impossible because I don't think customers are going to be happy if you replaced your McDonalds cashiers and cooks with some $2 pocket calculators. And even if they were smart, do you really want some metal rods and screws touchin' your burger, making it with robotic soullessness? Sure, everything I said is already pretty much true with teenagers, but the point is, we can and we will improve from this. One day, your robot expy can and will outdo everything you can do.
Revolution in the 21st Century, my friend...
Dagoth Ur wrote:Communists happily accept and hold up our bourgeoisie class-traitor comrades.
I'm assuming you mean, "in the case of successful revolution, communists will both persecute subversive bourgeois and integrate submissive or pro-revolutionary bourgeois."
I already know, roughly, that some will escape persecution on a variety of reasons. But what if they don't, and what would happen to them, is what I ask.
"I think I'm normal. Just not your normal."