(Note: this was originally posted as an invited answer on Quora. However, by writing this I extended my previous thinking in some new ways, so I thought it should also appear here.) I’ll turn 100 in that year, so I’m pleased you chose it. As I see it, assuming we avoid scenarios in which civilization implodes, […]
When people tell me that a Celebration Society isn’t “realistic”, I’m perplexed. Sure, it’s bold; perhaps even outrageous. But unrealistic is a far more damning term. Is it valid? As I’ve explained elsewhere, those who believe that automation will once again create more jobs than it destroys are engaged in dangerous, wishful thinking. They are […]
Google’s dictionary defines a rite of passage as, “a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone’s life, especially birth, puberty, marriage, and death.” I think this is a very serviceable definition. One thing missing from our modern society is a complete set of these. Yes, we have marriage, divorce, birth, birthdays and funerals/wakes. But […]
When the citizenry of a democratic nation loses control of its government, reforms are proposed. In the USA, multiple issues now enjoy supermajority (even 80%) citizen support yet are continually thwarted in Congress. One solution often discussed is a national initiative; similar to those available in states such as California and Colorado. US Senator Mike […]
I have here borrowed the title of a popular book; one I have not read. It is a title I love. George Bernard Shaw said, “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, […]
While job displacement from accelerating automation may be our most urgent problem, we have many others. The purpose of this thought experiment is to consider what kind of integrated solution might address the majority of these at once. Regarding the threat of worker displacement and social unrest posed by accelerating automation, I submit that in […]
While I’d prefer that a Celebrationist experiment be tried because of pure enthusiasm, that’s rarely enough for groups of people to create great change. Great societal change seems to come on the heels of perceived necessity. Accelerating automation will soon provide this perception for people pretty much everywhere, and that’s the reason I expect a […]
Many think that recruiting people to a vision or cause is a sales process. It isn’t. In this blog, I’ll distinguish sales from something that looks similar but yields different results. That something is enrollment. At least two organizations I am familiar with have used enrollment to attract over ½ million people to their programs. […]
The techno-utopians do a great job of showing the potential of technology to solve huge problems and give us a better world. I generally see this potential the same way they do. My fundamental difference with them is a particular kind of skepticism. Just because things could work out well doesn’t mean they must work out well. For […]
There has been much discussion of Paul Romer’s charter cities, and an experiment of this sort may be taking shape in the Honduras– though not one to Romer’s liking. I expect that people will want to compare celebration society city states to charter cities. I wish to facilitate this comparison, highlighting important differences and showing […]
