We will need a model of labor distribution, not wealth. Government should not paying for people to be idle, instead they should be encouraging retraining of displaced workers into modern jobs or help with setting up jobs abroad in countries in need of their labor. Getting in the way of the natural order of things by paying people to stay put is the exact wrong method. The west is soon to have an oversupply of labor. If government stays out of the way, the people will redistribute themselves (for the most part) and it will be better for the west and for the developing nations that will see a huge increase in skilled, experienced labor and business people pouring into their developing economies. People will go to where the jobs and opportunities are. They always have.
As the west moves into a more automated society, there will be new opportunities abounding. Instead of back-breaking labor in cancer-causing industries, people will have more time for things that aren't likely to be automated. Art, music, design, writing, invention, health, philosophy as well as high-end artisan industries (where people will pay extra to have their goods/services done by a human). Not to mention that these automated industries will still need many humans to work in high-paying design and maintenance jobs of these complex machines. These new industries will spring up on their own if the government isn't paying large portions of the population to do nothing.
Government should not paying for people to be idle..
..paying people to stay put..
I'm not arguing that point, all I'm saying is the existing model of wealth distribution is going to break down, so a solution of some kind is necessary.
retraining of displaced workers into modern jobs
That is not a solution. The problem is that jobs are being eliminated at a much higher rate than new ones created.
Getting in the way of the natural order of things
There is no such thing as a 'natural order' in this context, so I don't understand what you mean.
the people will redistribute themselves..
So your solution to unemployed youth of the next generation is to tell them to move to Africa or another 3rd world that still uses more primitive technology?
Even then, that would be temporary at best. When those nations catch up, they won't need the labour either.
As the west moves into a more automated society, there will be new opportunities abounding.
Not under the current system there won't.
The idea that we're all going to get jobs doing hobbies or art is naive to an extreme level. That's just not how capitalism works.
If you can be replaced by a machine, you will be.
The lost jobs will far outnumber any new opportunitys.
Artists, and academics may be ok, but that is a minority of the population. Everyone else will be obsolete from a 'for profit' perspective.
If we don't make some changes we will end up where we won't need everyone contributing full time hours.
But everyone will still need a fulltime paycheck to live.
I'm not arguing that point, all I'm saying is the existing model of wealth distribution is going to break down, so a solution of some kind is necessary.
People said the same thing about the industrial revolution and to an extent is was true. Wealth gets concentrated in times of economic upheaval and technological advancement. But the answer isn't doing what the communists did and redistribute everything. History has shown that that just makes people poorer. We are seeing that today. Wealth is being concentrated in tech tycoons.
That is not a solution. The problem is that jobs are being eliminated at a much higher rate than new ones created.
So far that just isn't true. Automation is actually creating more jobs that is costing (for now anyway). And the new jobs pay better and they are less physically demanding. As automation gets better the pace of jobs lost will pick up and maybe start to outpace the new jobs created, but automation will not be an end to all work as we know it.
There is no such thing as a 'natural order' in this context, so I don't understand what you mean.
So your solution to unemployed youth of the next generation is to tell them to move to Africa or another 3rd world that still uses more primitive technology? Even then, that would be temporary at best. When those nations catch up, they won't need the labour either.
Yes! This is exactly the natural order of things I was talking about. People go where the opportunities are. When Europe had an oversupply of labor in the 19th and early 20th century, people streamed into the more primitive US and the US was better off for it because it needed that labor (skilled and unskilled). The US economy eventually overtook the European economies. It will be no different in the future. If you only have labor to offer the economy you need to go to place where it is in demand.
Not under the current system there won't. The idea that we're all going to get jobs doing hobbies or art is naive to an extreme level. That's just not how capitalism works. If you can be replaced by a machine, you will be. The lost jobs will far outnumber any new opportunitys. Artists, and academics may be ok, but that is a minority of the population. Everyone else will be obsolete from a 'for profit' perspective.
That is exactly how capitalism works and history proves it. Before the industrial revolution, art, music, acting, writing, and other "hobbies" were exclusive domains of the ultra-rich and the artists were usually subsidized by the crown. After the industrial revolution and into the 20th century, Hollywood, the music industry, professional sports, the publishing industry all took off and became multi-trillion dollar industries employing millions directly and indirectly because people had more free time because they weren't working all day on the family farm or toiling in a coal mine. They wanted to be entertained and spent vast sums of money on movies, music, art, books, newspapers, magazines, and other new hobbies. That trend continues today with video games and internet content and very soon virtual reality. The more free time we have, the more capitalism creates things for us to do and that will continue to create jobs long after all the taxi drivers, truck drivers, miners, and janitors are robots.
That may be, but I've yet to hear other ideas.
A new model of wealth distribution is going to be required as we shift into a labourless society.