Ok. First, thanks for the direct response. It's appreciated; I'm not just trying to slam RBE, rather I'm trying to scrutinize the one aspect that seems most out-of-place to me.
Let's presume an idealized RBE. Practically unlimited energy. Star Trek replicators. Everyone has their own. Forget how we get here... the discussion isn't that interesting (mostly speculation,) and since it's theoretically plausible, it's not really relevant how we get here.
We don't need to think Star Trek to talk about RBE. It does not need any Star Trek technologies, in fact RBE can be applied to a society of
any level of technology. There have been tribes and communities in the past that had RBE mindset, they shared what they had and they knew that overfishing etc. is unsustainable, so they didn't do it. Of course if we apply RBE to the whole economy of the modern world, we need advanced technology. But unlimited energy and replicators is not a necessary part of it, the point of the whole system is the intelligent use of our scarce resources.
Oh, I understand that. But I think the various forms of possible, less-than-ideal RBEs are a distraction. I want to avoid the more trivial issues surrounding that, plus I want your arguments to be coming from the strongest possible base. Since I think replicators, to some degree,
are theoretically possible (maybe a few thousand years down the road) and I agree that we can keep getting closer to this ideal, I have no problem starting my discussions about RBEs with the presumption that the ideal has been achieved. It makes things easier for you, and I have no issues with it.
(1) How do I acquire all-natural done-by-a-human oil massages? (Yes, I'm serious.)
This is a good question. I think that in transition to a RBE type system you would need transitional methods. One of these methods could be timebanks, which are essentially a bartering system but they work perfectly for services such as massage. I've never claimed that it's a straightforward path to remove barter, it will be a very slow process and perhaps we never get rid of all barter. But I think that even this can change if we live in a type of "gift economy" for long enough, people just give you massages without expecting anything in return.
Timebanks... is this similar to things such as the
LETS system? Or possibly bitcoin-denominated
Ripple?
Personally, that's kind of what I envisioned. Once material goods are truly abundant, the most valuable things will become human services/performances and new ideas. The only way to keep track of those things is a simple accounting setup of some sort... possibly Bitcoin-like. So this makes sense.
I don't think there will be enough people gifting massages (at least, excluding creepy, over-eager masseurs no one wants to go to) to meet the demand of people wanting them though; I could see timebanks hanging around just to deal with this sort of excess demand. We'll probably have to agree to disagree over whether machine massages would be more desirable than human contact.
(2) As a highly sought-after masseur, what would incentivize me to give massages to anyone besides close friends or loved ones? (I'm being precise; not "why would I", but "what would incentivize me.")
Possibly nothing and no one could force you to do it either, because it's unlikely that anyone has anything that you necessarily need. If they do, then there could be trade. Regardless, I see this direction as the right way to go. A lot of the bad jobs today are still there because the employees are forced to do something to secure their livelihoods. With an RBE type mindset we would try to solve the issue in other ways.
Actually, if there were timebanks, and I could trade the credits for massages for myself, personal entertainment from singers, etc., I'd find them valuable and could be incentivized by them.
Lacking incentive though ("I've given you three massages this week already Jim, I'm done for now,") it's good to hear no methods would be used to force one to provide a service.
(3) What stops someone from quantifying the incentive (even in a crude, vague fashion) and then accumulating more of the incentive and making an industry out of that incentive?
I see a need for timebanks in the beginning but in general it's hard for any trading system to become anything but a small part of the society. It's important to remember that even stuff such as drugs would be 100% legal, all of them, so no black market can be born out of it. There are only a few niche markets where such a market could be born, and it's okay if it does.
Now, here's where I kinda get to my point. If timebanks are around, and I'm incentivized by them, likely others would be as well. This essentially would turn timebank credits into a form of money, and even if it's small, some sort of market (complete with exchange rates, etc.) would likely develop around it. ("Oh, honey! Five timebank credits! What a great birthday present!")
And, humans being human, a certain level of status or prestige would also likely become associated with accumulated credits. ("Man, that guy has a million credits! He could provide some pretty sweet services for himself and his kids for decades!") And of course, gifting credits or transferring them to ones descendants would be possible unless there was some deliberate attempt to prevent it (which, like today, would be worked around.)
If this market is allowed to function, even if socially frowned upon, then I guess that's the end of my questions. Essentially, money could crop up in a RBE, and those wanting to make use of it wouldn't be stopped from doing so. In which case, provided getting to this ideal is completely voluntary, I don't think I have any issues with RBEs.
Good luck.