The Age Of Abundance: Radical Shift In What We Value
It is simply human nature that we value what is scarce. Anything that we have in abundance we do not cherish. This is simply how humans behave.
Before the Internet, we lived in an analog world. It was a time the physical aspect of something made it scarce. The reason for this is the reproduction was slow and difficult. Once digitized, the process was instantaneous.
Think back to that time (if you are old enough), before the Internet. Think of how much information cost and how it was valued. Do you remember Encyclopedia Brittanica? A set of encyclopedias cost a couple thousand dollars. There was a steep price to pay for information. Those who had it were very fortunate. Most of us had to go to the library to get the information.
Contrast that with today. We have access to unlimited information on our phone. We take it for granted that we have this ability. Few consider the effort (and cost) associated with information. Now information is so abundant it is free. Sure, we can pay for it if we want yet most everything one needs is available with a couple web searches.
The present system we live under is based upon the scarcity of money. Since this is tied to all physical objects, we crave the materialistic. People often wonder what will happen when people have unlimited money since this is what the Internet creates? Will we see the price of goods and services go up significantly?
Actually, the exact opposite is taking place. There are two reasons for this.
First, most of our world is moving towards digitization. AI, Blockchain, and 3D printing are at the forefront of this move. When things fall under the Laws of Informational Technology, they go down in price. Anything with a processor, storage, or software falls in this category.
When we look at information, music, video, and communication, we see all of the same lessons. When they are in physical form, they were valued greatly because of the scarcity due to limited reproduction. Once digitized, the value of it plunged. We will see the same thing with cars (unlimited number of rides), screens (holograms projected anywhere), anything that was manufactured (3D printed locally or in one's home).
The second reason, and probably more importantly, is that we tend not to value what is abundant. How much do we cherish the music collection that is available to us? Do you show off your music collection on Pandora or Spotify? You laugh but there were people who did this when they spent thousands on records or CDs. Who is going to care about the IPhone or Galaxy X when a "phone" is nothing more than a holographic projection?
3D printing is going to completely upend the manufacturing process. Presently, we buy finished goods. In the future, we are going to purchase the raw materials and a digital file to print out. Everything in between raw material and finished product is going to be eliminated. That is price reducing.
So what will we value?
Simple....whatever is scarce.
Since our physical needs are going to be met, it will be other things that we yearn for. Privacy is going to be one, at least for a while until we figure out a technical system that has this as part of it. Connection to others is another. Spiritual pursuits will take on added importance. Contribution is another.
And finally, time might be the thing we value the most since that is something, at least until the longevity people find the keys to immortality, that we only has so much of. We are accustomed to wasting our time on useless work that we hate and has no real impact. Since, this is all we know, we think it normal. Our grandchildren or great-grandchildren are going to look back and think we were insane.
Why would you spend a large portion of your life doing something you hated and which, for the most part, meant nothing, for a few tokens every two weeks? That will be as incomprehensible to them as a video call to the other side of the world was to someone in the 1960s. It is something of fairy tales.
The evolution of humanity is underway. This process took a huge step with the introduction of cryptocurrency. At that point, the elite who are enslaving the world were defeated. Their primary weapon was removed. Once the global population was given the ability to create money, the entire scarcity system fell apart.
Naturally, this is going to take a while. It is going to be another 10 years before we see the technical advancements in this industry to make it friendly for the average person. At the same time, the elite are going to fend the threat off for a while. They are embracing blockchain which will lower their costs a bit . This will allow them to pass on some savings while really improving their profits. Eventually, the majority of the population will see through this causing them to make the transition. This will take some time.
By the end of the next decade, we are going to see a completely different world. Those who are involved in the process now are ahead of the game. Early adopters always receive benefits the masses do not. However, as we move closer to this Era, it is important to remember all are going to be involved.
It is time for us to start adjusting ourselves psychologically. We all suffered under the present system. It is going to take a while for us to alter our beliefs and mindset. At the core of this is feeling worthy of the abundance that is coming. A great part of the weaponry used against us is the idea that we are not worthy.
Radical changes are coming on every level.
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I think you're a little bit optimistic. The USA government and most big governments around the world are failing. I don't see crypto paying for things like healthcare and food for broke people that have no money.
We do currently have a problem with valuations. Typically the highest paid government employees in most states coach a team that plays a sport.
I am not as optimistic as you about the collapse of the US Government.
Sorry to disagree but it isnt going anywhere any time soon. The ability to keep it afloat is still in their hands.
Really? Why not? That is exactly what can buy food and healthcare.
Crypto is not magical. Crypto alone does not create wealth. The entire crytpo market in the whole world is not enough to fund the USA government for even 6 months. If SHTF I expect some cryptos to collapse when people need money. Poor people that have no money and no crypto will not benefit from crypto and might even be hurt by it since their foodstamps and salaries are paid in Fiat and not crypto.
Again, I have to disagree. While crypto is not magical, it is the as much a solution as fiat.
No it creates value. There is a difference. And if the SHTF, an alternative would be valued.
As for medical, the health token could be created in a heatbeat to be used for health needs.
How do you know? How can you make that statement? How much does it take to fund the US Government?
When you take dollars out of the equation, how much does it take?
The only reason I see you can make that claim is because you are valuing crypto in terms of dollars which is a useless exercise if the US Government takes the USD down.
Crypto fiat houses cars etc are all assets. We can destroy wealth with crypto or create wealth with crypto just like any other asset. Personally I think we should use more proof of stake crypto like Steem anbd less Proof of Work Crypto like Bitcoin that is wasting resources due to massive electrical consumption.
I could make a mysearchisover token and sell it to you and take all your money for it. I think crypto is useful and it is a hedge against fiat but we still need to be concerned with wealth creation. We can't all invest $250 into crypto and get a Lamborghini out of it. lol
The entire crypto market is worth under $400 billion according to https://coinmarketcap.com/ . The USA governments budget is about $4 trillion. Venezuela is making crypto and they are still broke.
You are right that crypto may be way better than the failing USD but just because the USD is dying does not mean everybody is going to be rich off of crypto. The US government could come out with their own crypto currency and we could still have the same problems that too much socialism and wasteful spending brings. People will probably eventually be able to go into debt with crypto just like they now go into debt with fiat.
Do you use @dustsweeper? My solo upvotes do not count.
I think we end up with one POW token and that is Bitcoin. Everything else will migrate to POS or end up disappearing. I do not believe all the forks of Bitcoin will survive long term.
I also think BTC needs to be POW. To have one chain using that method, to provide the security and lengthy verification, is healthy. Let everyone else do POS.
A centralized closed token put out by the same yahoos who drove the Bolivar into the ground. Yeah I think that is a presumable outcome.
And you dont think the value of crypto would explode if the SHTF and the USG collapsed (which I dont think it nor the USD will ...not overnight). To start, it would have to since the market cap is priced in dollars.
As for the rich part, I never stated that everyone would get rich under the scenario presented. What I said was that crypto could step in by the creation of tokens for the specific things you mentioned, medical being one of them.
This is the same thing the Fed does when it does it easing..the only difference is the money created is given to the banks to enter the money supply via debt. Here, you could issue health or food tokens directly without going through the bank and have the blockchain run as opposed to the government.
There are tokens being created for medical records and genome information, it isnt a big leap to create one for medical services. And with a collapsed dollar, medical facilities would take them.
No I dont use that...seems like an interesting project. I will have to try to write up a post about them...try to get them a bit of publicity. Seems like a great project.
Yeah so in other words a lot of crypto holders will lose money/value. I think it's possible that even bitcoin could fall if Steem does well.
I didn't know the Venezuela token was Centralized.
If SHTF cryptos and other assets may not really go up that but inflation probably will. It might take you 10 bitcoin to buy a million dollar Lamborghini whereas now it takes 10 to buy a $100,000 Lamborghini.
I expect someday there will be consolidation in the crypto world. I don't think we need a token for every little thing but there will probably be much more blockchain usage.
It is a great project. Hopefully we can get the payout threshold lowered to .01. It sucks not having being able to upvote replies and posts and have my upvotes count.
Actually we will have all still in the future. Everything from "Crypto rich" to "Poor has no idea what a computer is". But Crypto can very fast infect all areas once people see how much better it is and how they do not have to deal with a Bank anymore. Word of mouth spreads very fast.
Crypto will not solve all of the world's problems. It could even make some problems worse. I don't think a USA government and economic collapse will be a good thing for example which crypto could potentially help speed up.
That is true.
Although it will solve whatever financial problems there are.
Unless you somehow thing that Fiat is different than crypto.
Anything the government fiat pays for can be funded through crypto.
I think the main difference between fiat and crypto is fiat pays for things like food and healthcare for poor people. It may be good for crypto holders when fiat collapses but I think it will be bad for society in general.
Crypto will pay for food in the future. 🌮You can order food online from many services. Soon you will be able to order a Pizza with Steem. 🍕Soon you will be able to order a Taxi with Steem. 🚕Go check out SteemPay it's already super amazing. If people don't take care of things then they will collapse. This is just evolution. If things always stayed the same people would be bored to death.
You can use almost any asset to buy food but yes it will be easier in the future. Have you used Steem pay? You can't use it to buy Steem with fiat can you?
I think you can create and destroy wealth with both crypto and fiat and other assets as well. I think you are missing that key point.
You can buy Steem with Fiat on an exchange just like any other cryptocurrency. If something is being destroyed then it's because someone didn't manage it properly.
I can remember my stepfather having a ridiculously huge record collection. Then when cds came out in the late 1980s, he spent an absurd amount of money rebuilding his whole entire music collection. Try to imagine if that fool actually saved and invested his money. There’s a reason why some people stay poor, and some get wealthy.
Especially in these days never been easier to get wealthy. You can even be lazy and still get rich!
For sure. You just need some good judgment and some self discipline. My stepfather had neither.
In the 90s my aunt and uncle belonged to that cd club. Do you remember what I'm talking about? Their CD collection was huge! They def showed it off.
Mmmm this is really sweet. We have all been abused, and it is, indeed time for us to have some real deep and true compassion for ourselves and heal. That's the work I do in the world - help people to heal.
Have we all been abused? I have not. Many people I would say majority has been living a life of luxury the last 100 years compared to earlier generations. And it is constantly getting better and easier to earn a living. So really fascinating times we get to experience.
if we truly want to champion blockchain, it is by ensuring that a community can be a great alternative to a monolithic company. which means that we as individuals need to produce value, we the community needs to nurture the value, we the world needs to trust the community.
if a decentralized company can take hold and prove that it can move faster, be more creative and solve problems then our psychology will change automatically.
the blockchain promise is Gaia. can we do it?
I once read a book about our ancestral history that endured a cataclysmic event. As a result, they retreated in various physical, emotional, and mental ways. The psychological damage that has been inflicted thus far, in the present, has subdued the population into a state of ignorance. I don't want to sound negative or doubtful in any way, however with the opportunity that crypto has presented, their fear and/or greed might possibly outweigh their self sustainability. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic so long as proper leadership is in place. That is where the early adopters come in.
I like your words and your optimism, and I can definitely sense this change already happening. It's so ineffably complex that we can hardly say much at all with any conviction or accuracy. That's not really that important I guess, unless being right is our fixation.
For my part I think we can actually create whatever we want, and yes current systems will affect how we transition there. But fundamentally we can even use money-less systems if we decide to. The main thing to transform is belief and how we use our mind. Currently it is so dominated in assumptions (based around money and value) that there's not too much room to maneuver. The work of blowing minds is valuable work, and works in tandem with the work of practical people who change and create systems.
If we don't blow peoples minds, and really flip their lids. Then the programmed tendency will always return to just slip into an unconscious mind program of being a serf who clocks in and has no agency. This is how we think now, in terms of money and time and scarcity. They are real things because we have made them real, can we make the unreal again?
Really there's so many levels to this whole thing that I feel as if I might waffle on for hours.
Thanks for the great information and contemplation :)
Peace
really great writing about cryptocurrency
Wow i appreciated this post i likeee philosphy ............
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I always find your articles interesting to read. I am going to check out manna.