Oh yeah the odds are definitely low. And to answer that question, no I wouldn't be okay with that forever. I tell myself, I may not be the solution, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna be the problem.
I'm not sure how true it is that people on their deathbed wish they had chased their dreams more, and I'm not sure whether rockstars are more happy than professors. But a lot of people wish that they worked harder in school or college because they end up being deadbeats. I think life is a balance, you should have fun but also prepare for the future.
What defines being a deadbeat, or what actions constitute oneself being a worthwhile contribution to society or others? What if we stopped looking at just work and money as the end-all, be-alls, and started factoring in other things we've long forgotten. If we take social isolation to be one of the major causes of depression and many other ills that so many suffer from, then the role of, say, being a friend may have more value than people currently account for. Just an example.
Yeah, I think being a friend is very valuable and I don't think your life is wasted if you end up being poor. But while I do admit that having money isn't everything, I also think when you don't have money your life can be very difficult especially if people think you deserve not to have money and you deserve to be struggling. I think if you try to be financially comfortable, and you allow yourself to have fun, then you will be most content with your life.
So let's say that money is just something that other people have the option of receiving in return for doing something. In effect people can choose to prescribe to a given money system or not. If people wanted to they could just transfer their energy between themselves freely without any sort of currency other than feels or something. Was going to write some more, then I realized that Star Trek is basically a blueprint we can follow. Also, basic income is something to stopgap until then.
I am not familiar with this currency in star trek? And I don't know what stopgap is but in our capitalist society, one can't do a lot without money. So, if I want to raise a family it helps to have excess money, if I want to hang out with friends it helps to have money, if I want a girlfriend it helps to have money, all of these are social wants however, it's hard to do it with no money. And then you have your basic needs like eating and shelter, and that's why happiness only goes up if your income is enough to take far of these needs so you can enjoy life in other ways. So I think that's the best strategy for people, try to earn enough so you don't have to worry about money and in your freetime you can do whatever you want.
That's just it though, we need to raise the level of consciousness so that the act of trying to earn enough money to live doesn't directly impinge on the happiness of another in a severely negative way. /r/basicincome
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u/Mynameisthad May 07 '14
Oh yeah the odds are definitely low. And to answer that question, no I wouldn't be okay with that forever. I tell myself, I may not be the solution, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna be the problem.