But the power that be (stupid pseudo intellectual government, corporation and rich elites) will do their “worst” to make sure people dont get this, or get it soon enough.

They are already expert master at dumbing down the public and manipulating information. Its going to be hard (but not impossible) to ninja through their defences to get into the thick dumbed down lobotomised brain of the people.

But great concept, star trek economics and RBE is the way of the future, less uncontrolled capitalism monetary consumption and profiteering end the species first.

a. print phyical items
b. p2p money that is based on what you do

so maybe by 2010 you will see a more soild system

Eric,

great piece. I suppose I may forward this to the Oekonux list because it is really an eye – opener in respect to the limited imaginations when it comes to our societal future.

The only thing we should consider is we are not working towards the replicator on which Bradbury or Star Trek is based. The replicator indeed would put an end to human progress. Rather than that, we are finding the true generic algorithms that form what we call “life” in its broadest sense. Christopher Alexander gives an account of this in his book on the “Nature of Order” – http://www.natureoforder.com. Patterns are materialized algorithms in a way, structures that reinforce and complement
each other. It is not one universal machine we are looking for but the multitude of real life transformers according to the processes that are needed.

The energies and patterns that we discover and co-develop are intelligent living algorithms and thus they are active producing agents of material processes. Their discovery and realization means wealth for ever, in the frameworks that you so aptly described.

That is the main axis of societal change. It can only be reached by research. Research is the most political and meaningful activity today. We must learn to devote our lives to this research and understand the vast dimensions necessary. Probably we must top the research needed to produce the industrial society by a factor of ten or hundred! We need Millions of researchers, independent and creative minds, and my suggestion is that
they group around basic ideas like Global Villages as human habitat embedded in a self maintaining cycle with natural energies and agents. But of course also others. Global Villages is one of the patterns I hold valid, and it is the pattern around which I want to build a research community.