life has meaning only through enslavement

No, I don't believe that. But it is astonishing how many people do. I keep hearing talks on the radio and overhearing conversations in the supermarket, etc about what a problem unemployment is and how the politicians might solve it. I can hardly believe people are still worrying about that when in a few short years -- maybe a decade -- automation will be so common that most of the population will be what we currently refer to as "unemployed".

Instead of whining and wringing our hands over unemployment we should be looking forward to it. If handled properly this could be a wonderful new era for human society where there is plenty of knowledge (data is able to be freely propagated) and automation produces all the goods and perishables that we would ever need. Instead of training kids to be good slaves for the rest of their lives we should be teaching them how to value life and never be bored; how to find meaning and interest in the gift of their natural abilities.

Don't look to the politicians -- in most cases they are still living in the 1950s and becoming more irrelevant by the day. Vote the worst ones out, but don't expect much of the others. It is up to us to find our own way. Thank heavens for the net!