Creating a Sense of Purpose in a Post-Scarcity Society

In the future technology may help us enjoy prosperity beyond our dreams, with robots manufacturing our goods and attending all our needs but one... our need for purpose.

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Credits:
Creating a Sense of Purpose in a Post-Scarcity Society
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur
Episode 286; April 15, 2021

Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur

Written by:
Isaac Arthur

Script Editors:
A.T. Long
Keith Blockus
Dillon Olander
Matthew Campbell

Music by:
Miguel Johnson
Reign Pagaran
Denny Schneidemesser

[zakiducky]

A lot of people are struggling to find a sense of purpose in _this_ world currently. This is arguably already a problem for us to deal with.

[mesa]

Isaac: *Gives solid purposes that people will have after post scarcity*
Me: "Man, I'll finally get to play all the steam games on my backlog"

[bravojr]

"If you use a metal detector to find comedy you won't find it." -Isaac Authur.
"That's funny right there."- Me

[a-blivvy-yus]

High scarcity society: Goal is almost purely "survive"
Medium scarcity society: Goal shifts toward "improve access to shrinking pool of still-scarce resources"
Low/post scarcity society: Goal becomes "sustain access to no-longer-scarce resources"

[aldaynewisdom]

Purpose for all those whom following, if we are not there with thy. Permutate, dive into the sea of possibility, challenge to the skies of impossibility, let your soul shin, your ego roam and your ethos grow. So says I, so knows you.

[RhizometricReality]

I have seen people dedicate entire years of their life to exploring just one virtual world, or one series of code, or speed running a game. People, like cats, are easily motivate to entertainment.
I doubt most ppl will have issues.

[aurex]

When survival is a given, we'll probably alter and expand our definition of survival to retain a sense of purpose.

[lazerone]

The last 12 months have been the most challenging of my life . With a relationship breakdown and me making positive changes in my own life . Your videos have helped me so much deal with my anxiety and depression . Thank you

[droneracer]

You collect gold coins in a video game, this was solved in the 80's.

[georgekostaras]

Lots of seniors do volunteering, that seems like a plausible way forward in a post scarcity society

[Darocfi]

"...if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do."

[jayttcorrea]

8:15 that's so true 😂, i grew up in a slamp in Brazil, later in life i became an engineer, but today i find my self thinking about saving 2 or 3 USD in my bills, even though it doesn't make any sense, my time worth much more than that

[justskip]

Glasses or groceries? Yeah I was at that point for years and now I finally got new glasses after using old ones for about 10 years and it has really changed my life a lot.

[johnburt]

Your mention of both *_Detective Comics_* #27 and of becoming embedded in a VR environment which you've deliberately arrange to ensure you're unaware is a simulation brings to mind the idea of a vacation in which you become an eight-year-old in the Summer of 1939 whose mother runs a candy store, so you can hang out and eat chocolate-covered peanuts and read comic books and pulp magazines all day, with your adult tastes and sensibilities suppressed so you can enjoy these things fully.

[capefear]

"We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian Darwinian theory he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living.” - Buckminster Fuller

[Sol-Invictus]

Food, water, data, and walks outdoors. My one friend/wife and I'm gravy. As long as I'm alive actually I'm winning in my book. Countless ways I could not have so this is ok... Wish humanity loved life, knowledge, and our home planet but my voice is small. Well done as always bro.

[FirstRisingSouI]

As someone who has suffered from depression because of difficulty in overcoming the challenges of scarcity, I find it hard to sympathize with people who think post-scarcity will lead to a lack of purpose. I would think it would be the opposite; abundance leads to an explosion of opportunity, which makes finding a purpose easier.

[GreenBlueWalkthrough]

A post-scarcity world is a dream world for creatives, innovators, leaders, and those that follow them.

[landlubbber]

Thank you for being one of the few futurists I can think of who actually considers the bounds of science and what it can provide. So many people discount the value of good philosophy but then complain about the futility of their lives and it really starts to get frustrating listening to them

[rayceeya]

Post-scarcity should be the ultimate goal of civilization. It's the lens I use whenever I'm arguing politics. To make all want for nothing. It's an unreachable goal but when I'm filling out my ballot or deciding who I vote for, it's how I see things. I don't think we'll ever reach true post-scarcity but as long as that's the ultimate goal, we can keep moving in the right direction.