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To the Children of the Modern Age and Beyond

By Alan Baylis

Once upon a time there were so few people in the world and so much land that it was easy to find a place to live that wasn't owned. The people used the trees in their area to build themselves a house without any permits. For food they grew a vegetable garden and also hunted and trapped the wild animals in their area. All of which was attainable in a single summer.

It is no longer this way in the world. There is no free land and therefore no place for each new generation of people to live, grow food or hunt. For a while it seemed that the people could educate themselves into a position of employment and after many years of saving they would be able to afford a block of land and survive that way.

But as the machines gradually take over most of the positions of employment this is becoming increasingly hard to do. We now have the situation of highly educated university students having to compete for unskilled jobs. It is obvious that no matter how much we can learn the number of available jobs is going to decrease.

As unemployment levels grows from around 8% to levels as high as 90% who is to be expected to pay for the people's cost of living. The 10% employed will not be willing or able to support so many unemployed and the corporations, who pay almost no tax now, will have such a strangle hold on the world system that they will claim to have no social responsibility for the people.

Most likely there will be a slow decline away from full social security payments towards the American system which cuts off all support after a period of unemployment; or another scheme in which people are given menial work in exchange for a small living allowance while the computers and machines do all the interesting tasks people used to do.

These, of course, are no solution to the problem of the people's survival and happiness. The solution may be to become self-employed. This of course takes some money to achieve so, while some countries are fortunate enough to still have high levels of employment or unemployment payments, the people should be using their money wisely to buy the tools and equipment necessary to start a small business from their home. It should not become so large that it requires more land, begins to employ large groups of people and then floats itself on the market because then we return to the current system. It should simply produce something that is needed around their local area and can be swapped with the produce from other homes. This is a return to earlier times in which one house would produce a staple such as bread, which was then swapped for the other necessities of life.

The solution may also require that the people become as self sufficient as they can. For example, growing their own vegetables (using hydroponics if necessary) and fruit trees. Using a water tank and using low voltage tools coupled to solar energy panels. All of which need a bit of money to purchase so it requires a bit of foresight to buy these things when a person has the money to do so and not wait until the inevitable human redundancy problem reaches them.

Do not be mislead into thinking that by continually making and buying amusing, yet functionless, products can sustain high employment levels. All that will happen is that the resources of the planet will be exhausted and the people will be left with no means of support and a house full of novelties.

It is possible to live without money, but only if you want to and actively work towards it. The alternative is twenty or more years of expensive schooling, to be followed by unemployment with no social importance and therefore, no rights.

The people are the most important thing on this planet, not the profits of the companies. Work from home, spend your time with your family, be happy with just what you need and, purely for your own understanding, read the Bible.