essay on what if money no longer had a meaning (what if the replicator existed?)

[ILLICIUM]

this was a paper i had written a while back please comment and critique please dont be intimidated by the length i think its interesting. it was written for a class i took and had some points that i needed to cover to recieve full credit.

there may be some typos and please argue with me =]


Argument for the Necessary Development of a Non-existent Piece of Technology

In the past fifty years there has been growing concern over the state and well being of the planet. The problem has been know for many years but the crisis is gaining popular support as the projections of the future grow more and more dark and depressing. There have been various solutions that have been proposed that would prolong the inevitable, but the fact remains that humanity requires recourses to live, that is an inevitable fact. While there are many various short term solutions there are few long term solutions that have the ability to actually eliminate humanities need for resources, the Replicator would be one answer. The development of this technology would be one of the major revolutions of human history, right up there with fire and electricity. This invention would be the catalyst for a major revolution in human society solving a majority of the major issues of the world that we are currently dealing with. War, famine, greed , crime, etc. would disappear with the free distribution of this piece of technology. People would, for the first time in history have be equal across the board and the implications would be remarkable and perhaps we as a species would evolve past a level 0 society[1].

Humanity as a whole has endless potential for success and have become the dominant species on the planet. But this came with a catch, we did NOT care who we stepped on or ripped to shreds as we climbed to the top. This has changed as humanity became more organized ,developed and obtained a surplus of recourses. Humanity began to CARE. But this too has come with some harsh consequences, we only care about those that effect us. We place those that mean less to us on a lower place on the list of importance and if the wishes between to different people on this list are in opposition then we revert right back to slaughter and trying to climb back on top. Humanity is also a curious species that looks around every corner and overturns every rock, while this was originally a survival mechanism that allowed us to find every available food source , this evolved as our societies did. No longer do we look for food but answers. Humanity as a species have been curious to KNOW and due to that curiosity we have been advancing our state of living. This has given us hope for the future and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. The fact that hope has been an integral part of human nature has been known to humanity since the ancient Greeks , as shown in their story of Pandora. The fact that she closed the box on foreboding was the reason humanity was saved. However if we are surprised by something and cant seem to find an answer to the question well will find a way to shove the square into the circular hole, this is humanities need to understand. Humanity will accept an answer even if there is little or no evidence as long as they have an answer to the problem. Hitler stated this and used it in his propaganda campaigns and we all know how effective they were, it was because they gave answers to the problems. How ever eventually we relies that the philosophical approach is un reliable then we turn to the technological mindset. In Hitler’s case he was not making their (the peoples) lives any better so they abandoned him and cast their lot with the technology of the allies. In ancient times the people prayed to a god (or gods) for their blessings. However when the gods seemed unreliable or to slow to effectively accomplish the needs of the people they invented a way to do what they can for themselves. The relationship was similar to that of a successful first year AP students. For the first semester they may rely on the teacher (a fill in for god in this case) expecting that if they appease him the will be granted what they wish in life (great grades). When they understand that the teacher (god) just doesn’t seem to fill in all they blanks that they need (their grades suck) they learn to fix the problem (study and help them selves). It is as you put it, philosophical solutions lead to technological solutions when the technological proves to be more reliable. This is an equation that cannot be ignored due to the fact that it has been repeated various times in history. We prayed for bountiful rains but those were not always provided so we dug canals. We asked god to heal the sick but some died, so we created medicine. Recently we have been praying to god to save the planet and we are currently working on the solution. This solution has not yet been provided for us but will be found. This can be stated due to the fact that every major obstacle that has come before man has either been torn down or over come in some way. The problems that were able to be killed (enemies, predators, and other competition) were all decimated to levels that were no longer a problem for man. Larger obstacles , ones that are beyond the scope of human distruction (for now) such as weather and climate were controlled or locally distorted. Man has always been striving for a better way of life, in the renaissance by creating and inventing things that when used would make life easier and later the creation of new types of political organizations that allowed the people to have the opportunity of a better life. Human kind has over come all manners of problems from those that would kill us to those that just are an annoyance. There have been periods of human life where there has been little problem solving but that was due to the lack of social organization and free time. With an explosion of free time people have invention would rise exponentially. With unlimited resources and free time the population of earth would gain radical and new invention that have come form those who had previously no ability to create. All of the allotted resources that had previously been used to merely sustain life would now be used to make life better. If a person wishes to make a new invention they would use the surplus that would be created by the Replicator. The Replicator would even go a step beyond and produce the individual parts and you would only need to assemble them in what ever way you would like. The surplus that has been shown in ever other explosion of invention (agricultural revolution, the renaissance and the industrial age) would be eclipsed by the unlimited access to any recourse by SIX BILLION of the most resourceful species in our known universe. There would be no problem than then could not be solved. This is more than any of the other explosions in ingenuity in the past due to the fact that the access to the supplies was localized and even with in that area only those that had the most recourses would have the most free time. This was a glimpse of the amazing potential that the human species has. Imagine what humanity can do when 100% of it population has all that it wants rather than the 5% that has remained relatively constant through out history.

Marx was a man who found the problem but then ignored all the nasty truths of humanity. Saying that the main cause of the conflict in society of the world was the conflict between the haves and the have not’s or the top vs. the bottom was right. Ever since there was a top and a bottom they have been fighting in some way or another. Hell it was the reason Rome died. The social contract states that the have’s (the 5%) are subjected to the will of the have not’s (the 95%). It may take time to get the 95% organized enough to do something (over throw the unjust social contract) but when they do you cant miss it. So what do should we do if we want the social conflict to stop. Well how about we just give everyone the same amount of money even if they you know like spent 8 years in school to become a doctor or drop out of high school. And hey this sort of community will work fine but only if everyone is on board. But the fact is that there is still something that some people just CANT get. This then totally disrupts the prefect balance. It is just the nature of human kind to want more and when they can they will. Then you encounter the next problem when someone would like to deviate form the communist authority and this obstacle comes with the second generation. They would (in their teen years most likely) try to branch out and explore different possibilities other than communism. Then they become dissatisfied about the fact that they have a lack of right to consume and become dissidents or the new haves (this can be achieved by playing the system). Once the amount of those dissidents reaches critical mass then they over throw the government and then Marx has solved nothing. However, his recognition of the fundamental problem is spot on. Then comes the contradictory argument by Adam Smith and his capitalism. Hey we in America have accepted it so it MUST be the best right? Well not so much as we would like to think, America isn’t even truly capitalist. Capitalism is the “invisible hand” would control the market governed by the laws of supply and demand and that the government should just back off (Laisse-faire). But this results in the horrible mistreatment of the workers just for the sake of money. Early on in the industrial revolution the government started the intervene even with the starch protests of the business owners ( I mean hey its only a FEW lives and limbs. Do we really need all those damned poor people?). So they started with the limiting of maximum hours that children can work and started instituting laws that safeguarded workers. Recently in the U.S. we have been buying controlling stocks in the “to big to fail” companies that have mismanaged them selves into the ground and receiving free money, businesses like that.. The fact that there are any restrictions at ALL means that we (America) is NOT capitalist in the laisse faire-sense (suck it Fox). But the fact is that we embrace “capitalism” due to the fact that it allows the people the right to consume, within limitation, more than any other sustainable economic system but there is still a divide be the have’s and have not’s and so the problem still remains.

So the reason why various governmental system shave been created and the fact that hey have been “evolving” over the centuries is the same as the reason for the development of economic systems. However government is an institution that was created to protect the peoples right to consume by the use of laws and regulations that the people are willing accept or at least tolerate. This is the basis of the social contract that I have mentioned previously. The reason that they have laws in place its so that the people have a certain amount of security while they are consuming. If there wasn’t as set of laws then there would be a class of people that would make their living but extortion and murder. The governments best way to prevent this is to make it more profitable and less risky to make profit through legal business. The social contract is a formal or informal list of restriction and expectations of both the citizen and the government. In out constitution the list is formal and is our bill or rights and constitutional amendments. Also on the governments side of it is the list of laws that the citizen must up hold. The social contract also is the statement that the people have the means to overthrow their government if not satisfied. This was discussed in various earlier paragraphs so I wont go into such great detail. Unfortunately the social contract (“laws”) are not equally subjected on each person and are subject to bias and discrimination due to the fact the society (or in some cases the government) has labeled and/or generalized specific profiles of people. So the question is what social contract (a.k.a. what government) is “best” and that answer is democratic socialism and fortunately that is the exact direction that the two most powerful nations in the world (America and China) seem to be heading (or by definition stand point already are at). The government would provide for the basics of human living but people would still have the freedom to chase their right to consume. A win-win situation if there ever was one.

So we have established the reason why the governments and economic policies are constantly changing and dependant on the people but not why they help provide us with our right to consume, lets start with government. Government was created so that the populace of the country had the ability to interact with each other with lessened fear of their recourses (or money) being jacked. This allowed more people to interact and cooperate to gain more recourses than they would have been able to do on their own. The economic system provided the platform or structure on where people can innovate or expand their potential. In short government is the security and economic policy is the platform of trade. The creation of methods such as military, diplomacy, and foreign policy all are just methods of intimidation or cohersion so that a country has the ability to gain more for their people. In the age of expansion the western world all but enslaved the people of the underdeveloped world and then jacked all of their recourses and clamed them as their own with the “cunning use of flags”(-Eddie Izzard). The use of these tactics are the same as the way animals have the drive to take more, we have just organized it and made it more efficient. When it comes to military its not hard to make the connection to the basic animal drive of consumption. If one nation has the power to control another then they will. This was shown in Rome with its vast expansion and in China while it was occupied by the Europeans. Then when it comes to diplomatic policy we just have to have the military or economic threats so that we can have enough sway to nudge another nation into either going along with us or just ignoring the problem. The fact is easily shown with Chinas involvement and economic interest with Darfur. We know they are involved but no one can do anything about it without risking pissing off the Chinese government and we cant do that due to the fact that they make EVERYTHING. Increasingly military might has been loosing ground when compared to the effectiveness of economic might. All of these are just means to an end, how can we best gain more resources, and we don’t care how we get it just that we do.

So this part of the essay is not a specific part but is all parts of “establishing a premise“. I decided that the best location to put it was just before I go into a long winded explanation of the Replicator. The human animal is unique due to the fact that as an animal it should obey the laws of biological Darwinism. However due to the fact that we have created a society that has the ability to exist past the limit of local recourses we now obey the laws of social Darwinism, to some degree. To explain the two terms social and biological Darwinism I will begin with social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is where power (economic or militarily based) is deemed as the most important factor. In our societies some women will date men just due to the fact that they have power. Now social Darwinism is not necessarily the best course of action due to that fact that its views are narrow and focus on the short term. The reliance on power will not ensure that the genetics are coded for survival. In social Darwinism the superior animal is the one that dominates all others. In scientific Darwinism the “best” animal is the one that survives in harmony with its soundings. This Darwinism is inherently focused on harmony with its environment. For example if there is a super killer animal so effective in killing that it kills of all its game it would be the most powerful in the view of social Darwinism but the worst in biological Darwinism. The fact is that the majority of the world and especially the west sees social Darwinism as the best way to life due to that fact that if you aren’t the best then you have your recourses taken from you. The western nations of the world qualify more for the aspects of social Darwinism (we kicked everyone’s ass) but not for biological Darwinism (we are slowly killing our selves) We never really cared that we were dumping toxins into the environment until we realized that it would kill us if we did that. As stated in previous paragraphs humanity is constantly trying to find the best way to consume and that has tied into almost every aspect of human nature and society and the clash between social and biological Darwinism is no different. The human animal has recognized that there is not very much potential to consume when you are limited to the recourses in your localized region so we branch out and over extend our limits when compared to biological Darwinism. This would have been ok a few hundred years ago but that fact is that the population is now so great that the harvesting of sufficient recourses from the entire earth would only kill us faster. So the options we have are to pollute the earth and kill our selves slowly or to let only the strong survive. Unless, that is, there was some piece of technology that has the ability to eliminate the need for both choices.

The Replicator, a currently non-existent piece of technology that if created would drastically change life on the planet earth. The Replicator in essence would work by converting energy into matter and matter back into energy. There are some who would say, “but why cant we jus eliminate money” and the reason for that is that money is just a representation of stuff. If we got rid of money then we would revert back to trading with the actual goods that we would want. This would create much more hassle and would just be impractical. The Replicator would work not by eliminating money but by eliminating the NEED for money due to the fact that you have the ability to throw a chunk of stuff in there convert it into energy and then create it back into something totally different, gold for instance. One of the biggest changes that it would create would be the fact that there would be no more need for war with any body due to the fact that what reason would there be to fight and possibly die when you can get what ever your fighting for right at home. War would be ELIMINATED, is it just me or is that something spectacular? The fact that it would end war and the ideas of Marx is due to the fact that with the Replicator you would no longer have the drive to consume, well I guess you would but it would be sedated due to the fact that what more could we want. Then there is the problem of global pollution. I stated earlier that if we were to create enough stuff for every one we would kill the planet and ourselves. With the Replicator we would solve all of this just due the fact that we could throw any type of pollution (or junk) that is created back into the Replicator and then just zap it , lets say industrial wastes[2], into a totally new object, like say food. This would just about cover all that they report on in the news. Another solution that would be created would be the fact that there would be no problem that the whole of humanity would not solve. Locally the biggest change would happen to the economy, and that is the fact that there just would not be anymore. What reason is there for a platform for trade when there is no longer anything that need to be traded. The new economy (or closest thing to it) would be the internet. The internet would be the new economy because of that fact that it is the most efficient way of spreading ideas. There would no longer be any layoff or unemployment. All of the problems that are created by the economy, which according to Marx is all of them, would vanish along with the economy. While the economic policies would vanish the political social contracts would still exist in some zombie like (half-dead) form. Their main reason for existence would be to carry out the social contract. The military would no longer be used to protect the people’s right to consume but rather just protect the people. With the invention of the Replicator would come a time of change but that is still supposing that the Replicator will be built (I’m not saying it cant) and if it its it would still take along time before we realize this dream. One factor that would inhibit it would be the fact that we currently have 0 ideas of how to construct energy into matter, there aren’t even any theories on it. this may change though when the Hadron particle collider is used to its full potential[3]. The second thing barring the development of the technology is that no one (countries) would like to just give it away. Society would have to be a level one civilization[4] to distribute it as would be necessary for it to truly accomplish its goal. The reason why distribution would be a problem in our current level 0 society is the fact that if only certain people have the Replicator then there would be bloodshed and violence over the technology. Also the fact is that nothing can be withheld from being created even if it is illegal due to the fact that what ever is not created would be the new money. It would be like salt, it was valuable because its now much harder to obtain. Then what would be the point for creating such an amazing machine if it doesn’t solve all the problem of society?

Inevitably there are some potential problems that would arise with the unlimited access to ANYTHING. The first major problem that I see would we the potential rise in drug and substance abuse for the first few generations. This is due to the reduced risk of access and just the plain novelty of it. However there would be a social consciousness and a set of social rules just like were imposed in the Victorian era (see I was paying attention). The second problem would be the fact that “some people just like to see the world burn” (-Alfred the Butler ) and with access to C4 that is a dangerous problem. There probably would be a warning flag that would be attached to such products so the police can monitor them[5]. Finally there is a risk of a new standard of social discrimination that is not based on the accumulation of wealth but on something totally unrelated and this, like most things, comes with massive potential and massive risk. The discrimination may be based on ethnic or religious conflicts that lie in a philosophical level. The people would have to be led by a radical or reactionary leader but the potential for massive deaths is inevitable. There is also the fact that it could become a society that values intellect over anything and in this case the social segmentation would serve to rise the bar of human compassion and potential and save the human race from the pitfall of lethargy.

The creation of the Replicator will also have many less obvious but still influential repercussions that will not be know about until the creation and distribution of this technology. The Replicator would the majority of the major problems that have inhibited the progress of human potential. With such obstacles removed there is nothing we cannot do as a species. Such a technological development would allow my mind to rest and be at ease about the future of the human society.





Endnotes:

1. Alien societies are ranked in levels form 1-3. Type 1 have controlled all of the power of the planet. Living on oceans, harnessing the power of volcanoes, ect. Type 2 has control over local regions of space(star trek). Type 3 have vast amounts of colonies on various different solar system perhaps even various galaxies(star wars).
2. Industrial wastes and air born pollutants would no longer exist because the Replicator would convert energy directly into matter not allowing the creation of pollutants.
3. They are using the particle collider to look for what causes mass and what the base or fundamental particles are in matter. If we find out what is just above energy as a particle then we have a chance at developing the Replicator.
4. Level one civilizations have a unified government (along with a predominate language) were distribution can be accomplished.
5. In the new society there would be an even higher priority placed on crime prevention due the disastrous nature of any violent crime that would be committed.

[CaliGrown.]

What happens when the first replicator is created, stolen, and someone takes over the globe by turning you into their food?
The possibility of such an invention is far, FAR away, if even possible.

[smokin-n-tokin]

good read

[ILLICIUM]

Originally Posted by CaliGrown.

What happens when the first replicator is created, stolen, and someone takes over the globe by turning you into their food?
The possibility of such an invention is far, FAR away, if even possible.

thats why free distrabution is needed. and what reason would a person have to control the world? there is no need for anything in this new world.

Originally Posted by smokin-n-tokin

good read

thank you VERY MUCH

[CaliGrown.]

Originally Posted by ILLICIUM

thats why free distrabution is needed. and what reason would a person have to control the world? there is no need for anything in this new world.

What reason? Are you mad? Greed. Greed has been, and always will be around. You will NEVER make everyone happy, even if you give them all, everything in the world.

[eglider]

Please take this as constructive criticism and not a slam. You need a lot of work in Eng. comp and writing skills. That post is unreadable without great effort. Not clear and concise at all. Paragraphs outline a thought. you have none. If I were your teacher I would not have accepted it much less tried to grade it.
I would suggest reading more with an eye to sentence structure and a foundation to base the overall premise on. Good ideas must be stated clearly and with brevity or no one will read them.
Not being a writer and having abysmal skills myself. I appreciate good writing more than most who take it for granted.
Please dont be like me...save yourself before its too late ....lol.