# utopia: let people choose between free money vs free services

it's again time for me to pretend to be 5 years old and fantasize.

iiuc there are two main utopia ideas:

i'm personally in the universal services camp. all i ever do is sit in front of my computer and watch silly youtube videos. you give me money and i won't spend it. it's a waste of money. just give me some private space, some food and i'm happy.

but i can totally imagine some people would be much better off with receiving money. they can effectively invest that and provide great benefits to the society.

so which one should it be? i think it's possible to create a system that can accommodate both types of people.

note that i write this post assuming the @/coregov and @/autotax ideas are already in place.

between capitalism and socialism, it's probably corporatism that is the closest to what i'm describing. but i have to admit, i know very little about this ideology. just wanted to drop the name here for my own future reference in case i ever decide to look into this sort of stuff more seriously.

# publicly funded organizations

first, we have to establish that the government itself will fund some organizations, e.g.:

per @/coregov i'd fund these organizations based on the amount of people they are servicing. e.g. schools i'd fund per the number of students, or police by the town's size. and then it's up to the organization's administration how effectively it can manage its resources. e.g. if a police does policing well, they won't need many policemen and each policeman can have higher salary. hiring more policemen will not mean they will get a higher budget from the government. or hospitals: keep the population healthy because sick people will cost you money but healthy people are pure profit.

# voluntary prisons

let's take prisons as the first example. usually prisons are meant to keep bad actors away from society.

but look at it from the perspective of inmates: they get free housing and free food. maybe some reclusive people (like me?) would even consider moving to such a place voluntarily.

sounds like a simple life. so let's suppose somebody creates voluntary prisons. the voluntary prison administration receives funding per inmate. they would be incentivised to solve the housing problem for a large inmate population efficiently. this might lead to a more efficient solution than what we would end up if each person would need to finance their room independently. and if i don't like my voluntary prison's offering, i might go to another voluntary prison.

this idea is a bit similar to what chapter 4 of manna describes: https://marshallbrain.com/manna4.

it's also possible to earn a little bit of pocket money if i want to. e.g. if i help out with the cleaning or in the kitchen, the administration might reward me with some money. if i'm doing a good job, i might even become a supervisor of other cleaners or cooks. then i would receive more money. so i can have a carrier with an upwards trajectory even in a prison.

# military

but suppose i don't like doing nothing all day long. i want someone to tell me what to do. in that case i could join the military organization.

the military would also provide me with free food and housing. but they would also train me hard so that i remain a fit human who can help in emergency situations. i'd need to wake up every day and train. but otherwise i don't need to think hard about money here either.

if i want to earn money, i can help out with the cleaning and catering so i have a similar carrier possibility here too.

# education

but perhaps physical activity is not for me, i'd rather pursue academic goals. i could join an educational organization. the entry level positions would require a bit more qualifications though.

maybe i could start out as teacher's assistant. i'd grade people's essays, answer common questions, facilitate workshops, moderate internal forums. if i get the hang of it, i might become an actual teacher, or later a researcher myself. i wouldn't receive a lot of money in exchange but i would be eligible to live in the school's cheap dormitories.

# redistributors

but no, i don't want to join any organization at all. in that case i could join a redistributor organization. the government could support a few public organizations that simply redistribute money.

everyone who doesn't join the other public organizations can join a redistributor organization. this organization would have the least amount of conditions. it's basic income for people who forego the other options. however it wouldn't pay much. chances are likely that on this money i couldn't afford living in a city.

i would either move to a small village or have an actual job in a private company on top of this extra income. but that's actually pretty great. this means the city is left for people who actually do something useful. the government doesn't need support pure existence in the most expensive places.

# an option for everyone

those were just couple example organizations. more such public organizations could exist based on what society deems worth doing publicly (e.g. agriculture). the point is that this system gives pretty much everyone a place to be. it also gives a way to start earning money and the ability to climb organizational ladders. but it also allows for laziness if people want that. it just means they will have less luxuries then.

i think it's pretty neat and would totally like to try living in such a future even if i were totally poor.

published on 2022-10-12

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