…and in a world of full automation where all needs are met, I bet these people will still do that work, and still derive meaning from it…though they might not derive rent money from it.
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Are you implying that “work” as in “work or die” doesn’t give our life meaning but that rather its “The doing of the work” that can be meaningful?
Or am I suggesting that?
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Why is the monkey at 3:35 wearing a hula skirt?
Late stage capitalism.
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And countless of stories, futurism articles and geek pow-wows since. Danaher’s paper can’t be accused of originality. I suppose there’s value in a rigorous study of the concept, but it would be a bit more honest if he wasn’t pretending he came up with some of these ideas.
They would be integrated into who we are. We could have the best of both worlds: the benefits of the enhanced capacities of technology along with meaningful participation in the outcomes the technology facilitates.
Oblig…
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Did I overlook the meaning my not-yet-automated life has?
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“A job well done is its own reward.” ~ Management
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They will be replaced by Philosoraptors
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As a Catholic, I am more than happy to lay some blame at their feet.
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Er, about that…
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There I was, feelin all share-y and “hey person I don’t know, you’re valuable to me”, and then…
I welcome you, robot overlords, and I understand you must wipe us out immediately…
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I doubt that the guy who owns all the robots has any plans to share the income generated by his machines, so we will probably spend our time digging through dumpsters, looking for something to eat.
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I agree. Was more trying to get people to read it than to suggest it, too, was original. 
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Systemically inflicted mental health trauma results in less rational behavior — maybe even voting behaviors. The irrationality happens for science reasons.
So maybe that’s what’s the matter with Kansas: Trauma from 30+ years of Reaganomics abuse, plus corporate gas lighting and victim blaming.
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Exactly this.
The ‘philosopher’ who spawned this absurd question apparently has forgotten that humanids started out not working, and did pretty dang well until they made two mistakes: agriculture, and deciding to leave Africa and live in inhospitable places.
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Oh Player Piano is essential reading, IMHO.
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I agree 100%
I’m lucky, I do find my employment to be meaningful work, because I get to be a small cog in the machinery that eventually solves real problems that need solving. But that kind of meaning is meaningful because eventually it can succeed, and after those problems are solved they stay solved. And if it turns out those kinds of problems are finite and we eventually run out of them, then good, it means civilization is succeeding.
I’m even luckier that the rest of my life is also meaningful. I have (in no particular order) friends, family, free time, some disposable income, hobbies, interests, and a bucket list a mile long that I expect to never complete, and those are just the things someone could conceivably do today. And if I’m lucky enough to eventually be a retired immortal transhuman, I’m sure I’ll come up with lots more fun goals for myself. Only they will be games (social, intellectual, physical, sexual, emotional, experiential, and otherwise) not unchosen obligations, and the stakes won’t include death and destitution.
“What would you do with eternity, Harry?” Harry took a deep breath. “Meet all the interesting people in the world, read all the good books and then write something even better, celebrate my first grandchild’s tenth birthday party on the Moon, celebrate my first great-great-great grandchild’s hundredth birthday party around the Rings of Saturn, learn the deepest and final rules of Nature, understand the nature of consciousness, find out why anything exists in the first place, visit other stars, discover aliens, create aliens, rendezvous with everyone for a party on the other side of the Milky Way once we’ve explored the whole thing, meet up with everyone else who was born on Old Earth to watch the Sun finally go out, and…if I’m not doing those things it’ll be because I’ve found something better.”
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I’m not sure what meaning is really. But I am sure I’d make a lot more art and stories and games and other things if I didn’t spend most of my day working. Even though I do find my current job really rewarding. Maybe I’m too far removed from the non-“artist” life to have an accurate feeling but … don’t we all have something we’d like to be doing if we didn’t have to work to live?
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