After We've Worked Our Way Beyond Work

In the old days of sailing ships and hand-written letters, the world had the luxury of taking a hundred years to embrace a new idea. We'd better hope present-day society can adapt much faster, because we're well along in the most sweeping revolution the world has ever seen.

The Industrial Revolution turned the agrarian economy up-side-down between 1750 and 1850. It changed consciousness, society, and life on earth. Now, consciousness, society, and life are again in upheaval.Here, in the US, the middle class is dying, and we know it's because sustaining jobs are dying. We mourn these losses, but need to connect them to being two decades into the Non-Industrial Revolution! 

We are seeing how Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism, which grew out of industry's need to balance production and distribution of goods with fairness to workers--including paying for their retirement--are being subjected to new pressures.

The Industrial Revolution paid humans to operate machines, but the Non-Industrial Revolution involves AI (artificial intelligence) operating machines--machines operating machines. So, what do humans do with themselves --and their time and creativity -- after they've worked their way beyond work? 

When fewer humans are employed in growing and producing things, more humans will be involved in providing personal and personalized services.We are about to find out how society, politics, and economics can craft a system that works--when workers network for jigs --projects to work on-- in a world where few permanent jobs offer old-fashioned benefits. 

Exactly what new fashion the revolution brings remain to be seen, but we have to believe that all the expensive Cradle-to-Wheelchair issues may be paid for by a radical restructuring of values relative to things and services.