A member of our Facebook Social page asked: How do we decide what are necessities? Is all and any education or healthcare a necessity, or only up to a certain level?
Let’s use this post to examine this question.
In Copiosis, all humans get necessities—healthcare, clothing, shelter, food, and education—provided to them at no cost. No one is compelled to give you food, say, if you’re a jerk. So in order to get your necessities, you have to comply with the common expectation in most human societies—don’t be a jerk.
The categories of necessities—clothing, education, healthcare, shelter, and food—may not change. Which products and services in those categories are designated as necessary will change over time.
Locals need the freedom to determine what is necessary, so necessities are determined by location. For example, a winter coat in North Dakota is probably a necessary clothing item, though not in Southern California. A Gucci winter coat is probably not a necessity even in North Dakota. A coat designated as a necessity would probably be a functional, generic brand that keeps you warm, looks nice, but is not a status symbol. If you think about it, there are a lot of products and services that fall into our five categories, but wouldn’t be necessary.
The Copiosis society as I see it would err on the side of providing as much of both of these necessities. Why? Because healthy, well-educated people make the best societies.
In health care for example, plastic surgery in most cases would not be a necessary procedure.
While the steering committee, the Copiosis Organization, and local communities will have some say what goes into these five categories and what doesn’t, ultimately, producers will decide what their product will be, and their net-benefit reward is contingent on it.
For example, as a producer I may designate my product a necessity because I want the largest number of people to benefit, thus causing me to earn a lot of NBR, all other factors being equal. The easiest way to do that is (a) make it a necessity, (b) make it perform well for its primary purpose (c) make sure that the product is made as sustainably as possible (cradle-to-cradle manufacturing) and (d) incorporate other functions into the product to make it eminently beneficial.
If I’m making a winter coat, I may want to ensure it is made from materials that are readily renewable or from recycled materials. Maybe I can make the coat from old coats (former waste). I definitely want to make sure it not only keeps people warm, but also dry. It could be attractive enough for people to want to wear it. I want my manufacturing to be as environmentally neutral and to employ as many people as possible so long as those people are doing satisfying things that go into making the coat. Alternatively, I could have it fully automated. Either way offers benefits. Finally, I would want my product to be incorporated into other products in some way or be returnable to the originating factory where it can be refurbished new and provided to someone else. I might also incorporate sensors that allow medical research, or that monitor the wearer’s biometrics and report that to her physician. It might also incorporate some kind of emergency distress system that could alert emergency services if something were to happen to the wearer.
You get the point. Alternatively, I could designate my coat as a luxury, but that’s a different matter.
I don’t see any valid argument for limiting education in any way—education facilitates self-actualization and individual productivity or fulfillment. Healthcare is another matter. Clearly there are some procedures that are elective. But everyone does need healthcare from time to time, for chronic and circumstantial issues, trauma care, and such. The Copiosis society as I see it would err on the side of providing as much of both of these necessaries as possible. Why? Because healthy, well-educated people make the best societies.
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