"Aristocrats are rich—and so will we be": who says? The distribution hole in post-work arguments
ryanorban · x · 2026-09-06
Responding to Clara Collier's Asterisk essay "After Work, We'll Have Each Other," the author challenges the claim that productive abundance from robot labor will surely make everyone rich: abundance says nothing about who owns productive assets or how claims are distributed. The essay builds on economist Alex Imas's "relational sector" thesis — that human connection becomes the last scarce resource, echoing pre-industrial labor where identity came from dense social ties, not jobs. The author fears the relationalists are right, but the distribution question is being dodged.
Related event: Asterisk essay reimagines life after AI takes over work(4 posts)→
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