They pulled it because it got too popular. Culture must be rationed out, or the price plummets. Capitalism cannot function without scarcity.

We are very close. Our society overproduces enough now (and throws out about half!) to give a very good standard of living to those being laid off, but the economic system mandates rationing (thus the waste and burn off) and perpetual growth of the population. That system will hit the brick wall.

Nope, the tailgater is always wrong, without exception. You keep a safe distance and you won't hit anything, simple law of physics. I do have the right to avoid blowing the light. If you rear end me, screw you. You were too damn close or driving too fast! I am not responsible for the people behind me in any way. I always do my best to allow them to pass if they are so inclined. You don't have to like it. Just accept it and move along.

Ah, well, that's completely different. So basically what will happen is nothing, just more poverty. And I'm supposed to blame automation for that? I guess the people with all the money better put it under lockdown so we can't use it ourselves for our own purposes.

The natural state is you have to work to stay alive.

That is true only until the machines do the work for you. You're still completely failing to understand the concept. You are unable to see past your obsolete 19th century economic model.

:-) Knock yerself out!

I am truly amazed. Nobody here has the slightest clue what abundance means, and they are so conditioned by the 'elders' to reject the entire concept as impossible, and even undesirable! Fascinating...

Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this: the peak of your civilization.

If the majority of people on this planet could create a purpose for themselves there wouldn't be religion...

Yeah, and? Sounds like a good thing. They should get to work! And what's wrong with art? If you want to live a sad life, then, by all means... I have other plans

I don't care if you hit a brick wall. if you get rear ended, the guy was too close to begin with. That's what the insurance companies say, and I agree.

There's this thing called "purpose"..

Yeah? then create one for yourself. Take up knitting, if you must, but least leave the past outside with the animals

"nothing left to do"?? My goodness! How 19th century of you... Have you no imagination at all?

I leave that point for the philosophers...

Professional masturbators...

Fine! Effort.. *sheesh*..

Yes, reducing waste is a big part of the deal, and it doesn't reduce the standards of living in any way. At least a half of what we produce now is thrown away, even over there in Africa food is rotting in warehouses. Our problems are strictly managerial. I still maintain that standards of living would be much higher than you believe. Your accounting methods will no longer apply.

Who says anybody needs to 'own' them? Just build a fence to keep the occasional racoon from jamming up the works. The thing is, with machines doing everything, all of our phony economic models completely fall apart. We already know that scarcity is manufactured in great abundance to prop up the otherwise unsustainable system of the concentrated wealth/power we have today. In fact, automation creates 'communism' by default. All needs are met, no effort required. And then, we will fight wars to protect the machines that feed us. So we'd better weaponize them to protect themselves... uh oh!

Sorry, and besides, that ten grand will go a lot farther than it does now, once you quit rationing. Dollar amounts really means nothing. They are arbitrarily made up by the banks. "Supply and demand" is a myth. Gas prices aren't down because of lack of demand. They were set to drive off competition from the alternatives.

Bleh, you're doing just like everyone else. You won't need your damn $10,350 to 'buy' something completely made by a machine from the raw ore. You simply push a button, or speak a command. The machine will ask nothing from you in return. If you're feeling generous, put a drop of oil on its third joint there... ahhh much better... thanks!