RE: Living in Our Times: The Growing Ocean of Fundraisers and Crowdfunding
I fund a few people's projects through Patreon. But THEY HAVE A PROJECT (website, blog, or whatever) that I find interesting and into which I see that they have put some effort.
And I have funded many people's visions of a startup business. Most have failed, but at least they tried. And maybe their next attempt, or the 100th attempt, will succeed.
You have brought up this topic before. I reiterate that high quality organic food production is a labor intensive activity. I, and others, are willing to pay premium prices for high quality food. And growers have the advantage of themselves being able to eat well, perhaps lessening the need to meet medical emergencies in the future. And anyone who can't currently find any way at all to contribute to others in some sort of exchange, can, at the very least, contribute to optimizing their own health through exercise, breaking of habits, meditation, research, etc. Then, soon enough, they will find ways to contribute something in exchange with others.
There are many other ways to rid oneself of a sense of "entitlement" as to how to provide for oneself. Having lived for many year in India, where poverty and begging were rampant, I quickly came to the conclusion that if I were to give even the price of a meal to every beggar who shoved their "disability" into my face, I would soon have nothing myself. But I continued to give to street entertainers, ear cleaners, massage therapists, story tellers, etc. etc. If you fund creativity/initiative then creativity will grow. If you fund disability, disability will grow.
Instituting a "basic income" is going to turn our world into one giant zoo. Is that really what you want? Be careful what you wish for.
I think we're actually on the same page, in most respects. I have funded a few people's Patreon, as well, because I felt they had something "worthwhile" to offer. Similarly, my wife currently has a Patreon in an attempt to help get paid for some of her services... she's the equivalent of an "advice columnist;" in a day gone by she might have been paid by a newspaper or magazine as a contributor.... the readers believe the advice should be free, but the newspaper recognizes that people turn to the advice page every day so it has tangible value to them. In this day and age, you have to self-promote and solicit the end user...
I don't actually believe Basic Income itself is as important as having the discussions we're having and creating some sort of infrastructure that allows an exchange of "value for value" to be easy. In that context, I feel very positive about what the blockchain has to offer.
I do like the fundamental idea of "hand grown" food and Europe seems to have done a much better job in that respect than the US. Here, it is too much of an issue of economics, unfortunately. In Denmark, I know I can buy a dozen "ecological" farm eggs for about 30-40% more than "mass produced" eggs... but in the US, I'm often looking at 99c/dozen for "factory eggs" vs. $5/doz for farm eggs... and that's a difference most people simply can't stomach, and simply can't afford.
I also totally agree that funding creativity will result in creativity growth. Something for something. At one end of the scale, I don't really believe in "handouts," but at the opposite end, I see a system that keeps people eternally locked up in a sort of indentured servitude to the traditional job market — because the choices presented are "comply or be destitute" — is highly toxic and detrimental to human well being and development.
"because the choices presented are "comply or be destitute"
I think that is a widely felt perception, born of a sense of despair and ennui. It is also widely advertised that one of the more effective countermeasures to the despair and then acquiring an ability to perceive, or even create, new choices is to begin adopting an attitude of gratefulness. And I think there is truth in that advertising :-)
There are other methods of overcoming ennui, but gratefulness is perhaps the gentlest and easiest on your neighbors. Absolutely everyone can find something to be grateful about. And that is where it begins.