The public library is an amazing relic from the old world, I recently got a library card for the New York Public Library and I’ve been using it as a third space for writing and illustrating. I think its necessary to use public resources like this, otherwise they will disappear.
Me reading Turning Point in the backyard of the George Washingtons house in Washington Heights
From the Library, I secured ‘Turning Point’, A book of Hayao Miyazaki interviews. This book opens a portal into the mind and perspective of the greatest animator and arguably the most effective storyteller of all time. Japan is a wise culture. They have a rich history of philosophy and spirituality that their population deeply respects. I suppose when an entire generation of men literally pillage and rape a continent, it invokes some soul searching in the hearts of the following generations. Japan isn’t perfect by any means, but many westerners including myself have an intuitive interest in eastern lifestyle and philosophy. Miyazaki mentioned that Japanese individuals have a propensity to rid themselves of worldly possessions as they grow into old age, they seek a minimalist life focusing on community responsibilities and union with nature. This mode-of-being harshly contrasts the American method of aging. In America, people seek to be in a state of lordship over others. The Ideal retirement is one of comfort and luxury. We grow our personal fortunes over a lifespan for a taste of utopia before death. This cultural difference deeply affected the meatball beneath my cranium. Japans work culture, while admittedly toxic in many ways, has a unique perspective on menial labor. They view simple labor jobs as honorable to the collectivist society at large. America, on an economic level, views laborers as expendable, akin to feudal peasants.
Many people see the direness of this self imposed situation, yet I rarely see dramatic optimistic alternatives to the existing system. For every force, there must be an opposing force of equal strength, otherwise totalitarianism.
We live in the age of technofeudalism. Technofeudalism is a modern economic system where large tech companies weild power similar to feudal lords of the past, controlling digital platforms, data and online markets. Id argue structurally, medieval feudalism is better than technofeudalism. Discounting the scurvy of ancient times, this modern day incarnation of feudalism is worse because it is gig based. Meaning the bottom echelon of society works for a form of lord, let’s say DoorDash, but the central force is volatile as well as demand. Also unlike lords of old, we seldom reach the ceos of these new firms to – you know – cut their heads off, in protest.
There is a void for consistent work that must be filled the masses yearn for meaningful jobs.
Allow me to grace your eyes with the most effective method of Universal basic income I could conceive. One that gives the lower economic echelon proper resources, consistent work, cleans the planet and beautifies the surroundings in a way that benefits every social class.
Essentially, the alienated workforce that’s currently doing meaningless feudal work for companies like DoorDash and instagram (that’s right influencers are actually akin to peasants) would instead be doing meaningful rich work like building infrastructure, planting native species, repairing forests and constructing monuments in my honor. They’d do this for 30 or so hours a week instead of doing pretend work for some shoddy corporation that doesn’t actually benefit our species or the planet. They’d ideally make enough to live comfortably.
Now some would argue that this could very quickly turn into government operated slave labor and to that I say: this workforce would be self governed as a Lottocracy. A system where public officials or representatives are chosen randomly from the general population, much like jury duty. This would prevent elitism. This would be funded by taxing the top percentage of the population at a LUDICROUS rate. If the wealthy try to lobby or cut funding we simply cut their heads off. Also if there is little incentive to disassemble this class of laborers as doing so would eliminate the income of like 20% of the population. This essentially beautifies the planet while holding our lords accountable.
Furthermore some would say that this already exists in the form of state and federal workers but, that realm of labor is currently being actively cut by a current administration.
Now this program requires the masses to come together and threaten a bunch of rich people, then it would have to be government subsidized and rolled out first in places that need it most. Also it needs a catchy title. I was thinking:
S.H.I.T. — Sustainable Human Infrastructure Team
Or
F.A.R.T. — Federal Autonomous Reclamation Taskforce
I view this as the most reasonable alternative to UBI. One that gives people purpose, not just paychecks. One that rewires our relationship to labor—from servitude to stewardship. One that replaces the nihilism of gig work with the dignity of meaningful contribution. It’s a system that doesn’t just redistribute wealth, but redistributes beauty, care, and collective identity.
F.A.R.T will save humanity.