In short, the government in a Socialist system (the year 2056 version of it) would be the major owner of companies, instead of individuals or other companies.

With that defined, let's try and piece together the puzzle that could get us to worldwide Socialism:

In the year 2056, roughly 20% of the working population of any given country (let's stay in the US for this example) is jobless. The entire world is in a state of depression. Companies are continuing to innovate at an extremely fast rate to try and curb the slowing revenue from a jobless population. It is literally do or die for many of these companies. Those that aren't able to innovate quickly or effectively enough go belly-up. Those that do innovate in time - they effectively eliminate any positions that were previously held by a human. This is a lose-lose situation for the working population making the unemployment rate continue to go up.

Unrest begins to set into the 25% - the people are fed up that their skills are no longer applicable to many jobs. New jobs are extremely few and far between, due to the fact that robots and AI are able to do those jobs much faster and way cheaper than any human could.

Innovation continues to advance to the point where those in the previous 70% start seeing their jobs replaced by technology. The rift continues to increase between the 'have' and the 'have-nots'. A lot of previously successful people with incredibly secure careers now start feeling the effects of what the 35% have felt for quite a while. Unrest reaches a tipping point.

In order to shield themselves from the turmoil, the 60% of the population that are considered the 'haves' start isolating themselves from society and begin to live in their near-perfect worlds. Technological advancement is now at the point where things can be enjoyed that are unimaginable today (unlimited energy from us mastering solar power, unlimited supply of food due to a perfection of our farming and food harvesting system, autonomous cars everywhere and available to anyone that chooses to ride one, stupid amounts of free time since robots and AI are figuring out all the hard problems that humans used to solve previously, etc.)

The 45% of the population is in full on survival mode. They've been jobless for years and barely have any resources for food or shelter. Crime is at an all-time high. Fights and civil unrest are the norm. Dystopian future is in full on effect. Many people who once thought a life like this was impossible are now the ones suffering from a failing society.

50% of the population is now at a final tipping point.

No, the percentages are not typos - it is a way of illustrating the incredible quick pace of change we could see from technological advancements 40-50 years from now. Think about tech in the 70's and compare that to now. How do you think people would react to an iPhone, large screen TV, or car of today? Extrapolate that 50 years in the future. Hard to really imagine what is possible, right?

Did you also notice how it wasn't clarified which 50% of the population is at the tipping point? It could it be the 50% that's starving to death, or the 50% that's starting to fear what it will look like for them - be it crime against their population, replacement, or being viewed as an outcast or cancer by either part of society.

It is at this point where the inherent collective good of the people could create a system where everyone will be able to leverage the amazing products and services that will be available through technological innovation. It may take one "rogue" Trillionaire (they will have those in the future too you know) that decides to leverage his company's accomplishments to be utilized by everyone, since costs to produce and create products and services will be minimal or non-existent due to self-sustaining robotic systems. Or it might be the population that's shifting over from the 'haves' to the 'have-nots' that have already achieved a tremendous amount of advancements in tech where self-sustaining systems and AI can be enjoyed and further improved. This could render two societies that rise to the same common goal but through different paths. Maybe it's neither, and the 'haves' continue to strive to Utopia while leaving the 'have-nots' to die off, which in theory would also lead to a form of Socialism for the Utopia peeps, since everyone should be able to enjoy everything that's owned by the conglomerate of the people.

To summarize, let's try and define the gist of this entire piece with as little words as possible:

Due to incredible advancements in technology, automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence, it could be possible to have a no-cost system of products and services in the future that the population of the world will be able to enjoy. The level of greed of those in control of these systems will decide how much of the population will get to enjoy these advancements. Depending on the path society decides to take, we may have a Socialistic society that's available to a very few, or to everyone.

Either way, it's probably a good idea that we all start thinking about what a perfect society needs to look like, because technology and innovation might give us the key we need to enjoy life in a way we've never thought possible.

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