an economic system should, IMO, be to ensure that everyone has the possibility to live a life that they experience as flourishing, while distracting them from that goal as little possible
Oh, yeah, that’s definitely a point of confusion between us. IMO, an economic system is an evolved mechanism for communicating individual desires and negotiating behavior and resource constraints without having to pay the cost of the underlying violence behind the idea of ownership and the enforcement of necessary cooperation.
I broadly agree that we’re in an unpleasant equilibrium of what’s “necessary” and “unpleasant”. I don’t have a picture of a better equilibrium that supports this density of humans with the same distribution of capability and the same or better amount of individual autonomy. I prefer that there are enough porta-potty cleaners who choose that as their self-actualized goal, but I don’t have a lot of faith that it’s possible with current levels of human development.
Oh, yeah, that’s definitely a point of confusion between us. IMO, an economic system is an evolved mechanism for communicating individual desires and negotiating behavior and resource constraints without having to pay the cost of the underlying violence behind the idea of ownership and the enforcement of necessary cooperation.
I broadly agree that we’re in an unpleasant equilibrium of what’s “necessary” and “unpleasant”. I don’t have a picture of a better equilibrium that supports this density of humans with the same distribution of capability and the same or better amount of individual autonomy. I prefer that there are enough porta-potty cleaners who choose that as their self-actualized goal, but I don’t have a lot of faith that it’s possible with current levels of human development.