I am a Politician for the Pirate Party of Norway, and my current task is to explain (and sell as a political idea!) the concept of Universal Basic Income.
Or, as I like to think of it, building the third level on the Tower of Babel (basic education, 1877, being the first, and universal healthcare the second).
An extraordinary complex issue, influenced by two thousand year old ingrained ideas of the importance of "work" - "He who does not work, neither shall he eat".
But with the job-market prognosis currently at 50% of all jobs disappearing within the next 20 years, there are no realistic alternatives between massive social upheaval, and the calming effect of social safety that comes with having a permanent, reliable, no conditions attached, basic income.
In the words of Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Allied occupation of Japan: "Give me bread, or give me bullets.".
In order to effect real social change, one has to weave a story.
Stories are the little things, the words spoken softly, and calmly, that convey great ideas. Men move mountains; but ideas move men.
And in order for the change to occur, the storyteller needs to believe in the story - the words must come from the heart, flowing over the cup, into this world.
It will not be a short story.
In our journey, we shall cover the very beginnings of our industrialized history - we shall read of Jack London and The People of the Abyss, W.T. Steadt and The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon, we shall touch upon the beginnings of economic theories and philosophy as told From the Mouth of Babes, we shall ask tricky questions of both naturalistic and meta-ethical nature, and we shall think about what is Less Wrong.
In the end, we will arrive at the really good questions, such as: "What kind of a world do we want our children to live in?".
We shall call upon the support of monsters.
The rejects. The discarded ones. The failures. The heartbroken ones, those set aside by society as no more than serving as a warning to others not to step out of line, but keep feeding the System.
And yes. We shall even call upon the support of Those Who Cannot Be Named.
Doing so nets us at least ten percent of the male voters, and then we need nine more percent to achieve memetic breakthrough, where The Idea gains its own momentum due to saturation.
And then, even the enemies of The Idea, cannot help but contribute to its growth in popularity.
Good job I've got lots of spare time.
