A solution attempt: new, social currencies, education and “communism powered by technology = real-time capitalism”

Paul Tudor Jones II is creating an index that highlights companies that contribute to society in ways that society considers desirable, determining those factors by public surveys.

Inequality is human. Equality is machine-like.

I think the money can be used better. Reduction of income inequality is not the solution. There will always be inequality, because people are different and contribute to society to different degrees. There are already many studies about happiness and happiness indeces out there. But even if we moved from a GDP determined in monetary terms towards a “happiness currency” , some people would be “happiness creation billionaires” and others be poor. Inequality is human. Equality is machine-like.

All life has an inherent value

Life is unique and valuable, so today we would probably all agree that we have a purpose beyond contributing to others, be it to their monetary or happiness wealth — an inherent, independent and universal value — and that we should therefore all still be allowed to live even in a fully-computerised, automated, optimised world.

One thing is important for the following thoughts: I believe that we will live in a future of abundance, not one of scarcity. A future with low energy costs and fully automated production of all existentially relevant goods. At least, these basic things will be cheap enough for everyone.

Appreciation as the driving currency of the society of the future or a dollar for a smile

So how can that society look like? I feel that it’s already quite visible that people prefer to be appreciated than to be rich. Social recognition seems the ultimate social currency. The jobs that will still be needed in the future are jobs that people will want to do even if they did not get paid to do them. They are inherently human. Everything else can sooner or later be computerised. So is there still a need for ownership? The desire to own things and having your own space seem to be deeply human too. Just like the joy of sharing. What if communism was far ahead of its time, because it was lacking the right technology?

If we look at the list again, you’ll see that accounting will most likely be automated:

If it’s automated, it’s most likely also real-time. In a real-time economy, there should be a convergence of monetary and social currencies. Anything you do that creates value for another human being will be appreciated real-time. A dollar for a smile.

In that world, a billionaire will be as happy as the people he is creating value for. There is no enrichment for him without enrichment for others. Maybe that’s even the case today and income inequality is not a real issue. It’s something that sounds like it’s a problem, but really people who create value help other people. And that’s great. What they do with that money is the real question. In a real-time happiness accounting economy, will a billionaire still buy a skyscraper loft in central London and leave it empty most of the time while driving out other people from the city? Is tax saving still going to be a thing? I don’t think so. As soon as there is abundance, saving doesn’t make sense.

I guess basically I'm saying, we’ll be fine. Go create that real-time accounting. It’ll drive good behaviour. Of course, I could be massively wrong about the abundance assumption. Famous last words?

Closing words

I feel kind of exposed to criticism by what I've written as it’s so unfinished and sounds ridiculously naive. At the same time, if looking into the future was easy, there’d be more billionaires already. I do acknowledge that these thoughts are not all-encompassing, I may be jumping way too far between different arguments for a lot of readers and I am very likely to be wrong all together. Finally, from a scientific and stylistic level, this is still at the level of a stimulating small talk conversation in a bar. Don’t let that hold you back from sharing your thoughts, feelings and opinions on what I've written. Feel free to help me expand on it and if it inspires anyone to do something cool or expand on this, it’s already been worth it.

If you've enjoyed reading this, please consider sharing or recommending it.