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Xyrik comments on Estimate the Cost of Immortality - Less Wrong Discussion

-4 Post author: Algernoq 13 December 2015 11:38AM

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Comment author: Lumifer 15 December 2015 03:38:08PM 2 points [-]

There's nothing in the scenario described by Xyrik, or the scenario described by Tem42, that says the people involved are doing only "meaningful conscious-expanding profound activities" and neglecting the necessities of life.

The whole point of the communist paradise is freedom from need. That, as you correctly point out, leads to an incentives problem and a coordination problem. The lack of incentives (which, I think, exists in Xyrik's scenario as the alternatives are... much less palatable) leads to people over-doing pleasant things (meaningful, profound, conscious-expanding -- or simply hedonic) and under-doing unpleasant things (e.g. mucking in the dirt). At the current level of technology a society without appropriate incentives will soon start to starve.

It works for small communities which mooch off larger societies (hippy communes, Burning Man, etc.), but convert the entire world to this system and I would recommend getting a lot of ammo and beans ASAP.

Comment author: Xyrik 18 December 2015 10:29:13AM *  0 points [-]

The lack of incentives (which, I think, exists in Xyrik's scenario as the alternatives are... much less palatable)

Basically the idea is that everyone realizes that if we do this that we could vastly accelerate the speed at which we develop, and thus solve many of our problems such as over-population, food, etc. by spreading among the stars, after which people could once again live a more free life and create their own systems, including but not requiring a governing body.

Comment author: entirelyuseless 18 December 2015 02:52:43PM 2 points [-]

Do what? Let's suppose we abolish money this evening. What are you going to do tomorrow?

Comment author: Lumifer 18 December 2015 04:02:46PM 1 point [-]

Basically the idea is that everyone realizes that if we do this that we could vastly accelerate the speed at which we develop

This seems obviously, patently false to me.

Even if you have in mind a far-reaching remaking of humanity into enthusiastic slaves of some god-like entity, I don't think that it would either "vastly accelerate the speed" or would lead to "more free life" in the future.

Comment author: ChristianKl 18 December 2015 03:19:43PM 1 point [-]

Basically the idea is that everyone realizes that if we do this that we could vastly accelerate the speed at which we develop, and thus solve many of our problems such as over-population, food, etc. by spreading among the stars

Yet you present no arguments why you believe such as acceleration will happen. Especially when it comes to the productions of commodieties such as food money driven markets are very efficient. The market consistently manages to kill companies that don't effectively produce goods.

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