
Buckminster Fuller thought, some time ago now, that we should do away with the notion that everyone must earn a living. It’s a good thing my son never read this; it would only confirm his own views on the matter. An inveterate Star Trek devotee, he believed for some time (perhaps he still has a lingering hope) that the time would come when all would be provided by replicators. No need to work to get your food, your clothes or any other items to satisfy needs or wants—just make your selection on the replicator and out pops your stuff. Let’s not even go there in discussing the conservation of matter and energy; just consider the missing logical steps like: Who builds the replicators? Who fixes them? Who supplies the energy (and matter) required to power them? Hah, just little details. Fuller meant, of course, that people should be free to pursue creative endeavors rather than having to punch clock at a job. That the efficiencies of technology should aid in the process of transitioning from a mercantile/manufacturing economy to something more free. In truth, today there are a great many people who do not “work” in the traditional sense of producing goods or services that add value to society—they work on Wall Street as investment bankers, hedge fund managers, arbitrageurs, etc.