haha!

Good one Kev

I think that thinking outside the box is always both fun and useful, but since I am so strongly opposed to revolution, I generally prefer to think seriously only about how we can steer the current system in one direction or the other, and never how we can replace the current system entirely.

You should read some Iain M. Banks books. I think you'd like them.

I give a quick rundown of his galactic civilisation "The Culture" in the Technocracy thread, and while it it basically contingent on machines doing all work, it does have some elements of the system you mention. People there can only achieve "value" through fame, but unlike your system nobody has to work, because machines are doing all the work that sustains society, so if you are fine with being an anonymous member of society, you can lead a completely selfserving, hedonistic life.

I think that we would have to at have most of the basic primary and secondary means of production completely automated before we could even think to begin to implement this system, and even then, only in small gradual steps.

Kevin, this reminds me of socialistic Heroes of labour, like Stakhanov and his trusty gigantic shovel Good idea, but corny and mischievously funny, for people who's fathers and grandfathers greeted each other with "cest praci" (honor to the work) I welcome the company policy, instead of just employing people, they actually also care for them. Of course, it shouldn't be misused like they do in Japan, (singing the corporation hymn in corporation uniforms and then doing all the day a miserable job with 20 years to wait for a promotion) where a suicide rate is one of highest.

One my great-grandfather, who was abducted and taken to a Syberia hostage working camp (he did die somewhere after by a bomb, but a part of his diary got to the family) was such a worker there. They had there some kind of mine, and who dug out the most of ore, or dug a longer than norm piece of a mine corridor, was celebrated as a Stakhanover. My great-grandfather was a Stakhanover once, when he cheated by shifting backwards a marking sign of the corridor length. The only (practically permanent) Stakhanover there was such a weird guy, so it wasn't very satisfying to be a Stakhanover together with him.

The problem with our economies is, that they are based on competition. Competition is a plague, and it should be restricted to Olympic games. Competition gives you only a few succesful individuals and a lot of the unsuccesful. The average outcome is always poor.
But a cooperation is much more profitable overall. There won't be any extremely rich people, but the average living standard will be very high. A lot of profit and technologic improvements is lost to competition. For example, as Noam Chomsky wrote, we have two main air traffic companies, Airbus and Boeing. If Boeing would use it's money to develop a new kind of airplane, which would give it an advantage 20 years after, Airbus would gain an advantage immediately (having Boeing weakened) and it would destroy Boeing. A competition doesn't allow anyone to focus on a long-termed benefit.
And the long-termed benefit would be the only one which lasts.

If we will transform our economies on cooperation, the impact on all the culture and life standard will be tremendous.
The most important step in that is the idea of sharing. Sharing the excessive capitalistic resources will resolve the conflicts in the world, and newly available money which were before spent on war, will be used constructively.
Soon, governments will fulfil their true function, which is providing a free food, water, housing, healthcare and education to all people, not bossing them around. We will not have to work in order to survive, and a non-compulsory work will become a form of entertainment, a hobby. Constructive, creative, artistic way of doing things is the right one. Living is an art, and people will become artists of life.
We can, eventually, have 4 days of the week free, instead of two. This will allow people to think, to do something in their leisure time, while today someone wants them to spend a half of day at work, and the second half in front of television. Someone wants to keep us dumb consumers, because it's good for a profit. Well, let's make some profit in human capital, not financial.