The following fictional descriptions of different possible parts, mechanisms and aspects are meant as a cognitive aid to better understand and imagine the working reality of such a hypothetical system. The plausibility of a gigantic thought experiment (which every theoretical model of systemic and paradigmatic change represents) rises with the level of detail provided in its description. At the same time, the level of speculation increases accordingly. As the ever-finer blanks can only be filled out in the process by people dedicated to solving most specific issues and challenges discovered along the way, we try to focus on overarching infrastructural aspects most crucial to the realization and functionality of the system.
At no point do we claim completeness or even the possibility of the existence of a complete description of such a global hypercomplex system and ideological paradigm; and it is only natural that for every aspect illustrated on this platform, further questions arise, as we have no historical or contemporary experiences to compare.
Certainly, every theoretical structure of sufficient scale and complexity needs a great deal of improvisation in its practical execution, especially in the lower and more regional organizational levels and social environments. Many things will be subject to constant change and improvement, along with the advancement of a global society.
This is not at all an undesired effect. Though the goal clearly states total global equality in rights and supply and the abolition of property, a panhumanist system does explicitly NOT seek to equalize humans as individuals, in regard to their spirit, personality, character, preferences or potentials.
While a global, centralized administration enables a system of equality and provides the fundamental macrostructures, regional and local administration will have to ensure an equally just execution with regards to cultural and environmental specifications and differences. The everyday experience of life will be one of coexistence of highly individual beings, organized, socialized and involved in different cultures and subcultures, groups and communities according to their individual preferences, needs, desires and interests.
In contrast to other ideologies, including capitalism and especially neoliberalism, instead of dehumanizing and limiting the human individual, the FASC panhumanist system liberates mankind from any oppression and restrictions opposing or limiting their individual personal development and expression - with exception of those ways of self-actualization that consist of or depend on inequality, exploitation and oppression of and towards others and nature.
For every way of self-expression in and under capitalism connected to, enabled or supported by acquisition of scarce resources (be it status symbols, travel, fashion or luxury food etc.) there will be alternative, more satisfying and fulfilling forms/adaptations; and many opportunities to unfold our human potential such as sports, arts, education, philosophy, science or social care within communities may remain almost unchanged. Only the industries built on and around these (in some instances, ancient) activities disappear, allowing a return to the root cause and actual core of everything, leaving behind the overlaying and undermining malevolent parasitic commercial behemoth substitutionalizing and commodifying the initial, natural desires connected to each respective activity.
It is important to remember that the promotion of freedom of choice and expression in today’s capitalist systems is mostly an illusion and that each individual is heavily suppressed and indoctrinated, that there is a high level of normalization and streamlining pressure imposed on every individual (starting the day they first see the light of the sun) to fit the spectrum of social standards, that all ways of individual self-actualization outside said spectrum are either systemically desired and long-term beneficial to the system or heavily restricted /discouraged / made difficult (mothers and fathers raising their children, artists working outside the boundaries/expectations of their industries, people working in social care, generally people not interested in growth, increasing productivity and consumption).
To avoid misconceptions, let us also state that the described system, while being somewhat totalitarian by nature due to its global span and maxime of equality, is NOT a tyranny. Automation does not mean autocracy. The “artificial intelligence” does not rule or oppress you. It is not a machine king or machine god. It is important to understand that NOFIN does not consider or expect “the machine” to be sentient, self-conscious, intelligent in a human sense. The term simply describes a complex software structure running and supervising a hardware structure designed to provide a fully-automated global supply chain of all goods and corruption-free administration of society within human-made and human-controlled legislation.
The required human regulatory body will reflect the panhumanist paradigm as much as possible, with prevention of accumulation of power, maximum cultural diversity, a democratic decision making process and transparency as underlying principles. Yes, as in any other system, laws and regulations will be necessary; but by standing in the ideological center of the system, instead of profit and growth, humans will experience and benefit from an entirely humane society, economy and a humane purpose-centered use and design of technology.
Imagine an automated system providing sufficiency (instead of luxury, as in privilege access to scarce resources) to maintain equality for an estimated population of 8-12 billion people on earth.
Luxury in the sense of abundance will only be prevalent for certain immaterial goods. In other areas and categories, abundance will be avoided in favor of total resource efficiency and a resulting zero-excess, zero-waste production.
Abundant will be time, education/knowledge/information and care.
Sufficiently available will be energy (which will be needed for the fully automated government and distribution systems). Abolished or absent will be status items and tertiary consumer goods.
However, everything necessary for self-sustainment according to human rights and a life in dignity, as well as resources needed for the maintenance and advancement of the panhumanist system, or the advancement of the human species as such, will be provided.
Every request for additional resources - e.g. for creative individual labour in the sense of arts & crafts, or projects for research or designing a new product/TOELI - is evaluated and, in facile cases, approved by a smart mechanism with access to a global knowledge database - given the project is deemed unharmful, there is no precedent for the respective idea or project and the realization is feasible. Otherwise, information on the already existent similar product/project or research results is shared with the citizen issuing the request.
If a similar idea is already currently in development, the citizen is provided with contact information of the research team working on the project, to facilitate global collaboration and pooling of expertise/experience and interests, to further ensure maximum efficiency.
A need-based economy naturally implies to meet the individual requirements of non-neurotypical (if that will even be a necessary distinction in a world without work and the resulting normalizing processes) , mentally or physically ill or disabled citizens as well as appropriate medical treatment wherever indicated. This may include above average supply of resources or access to special aids, but only as a compensation of individual disadvantages or shortcomings, not as an advantage over others. Each and every human being will by birth be (irrevocably?) granted and entitled to all rights and structural benefits of the panhumanist system.
Without property, currency or work, with the decommodification of goods, with total justice and equality, society will be freed from personal wealth or merit, privilege will vanish, and an euphoric experience of a zero-envy global community will prevail.
The absence of individual advantages, paired with equal maximum access to education, knowledge and information will further support and reinforce the positive dynamics of society and the personal growth of every human being.
The vast improvement of living standards and access in regard to nutrition, medicare and education, the significant decrease in stress and most important the enormous increase in self-determination will lead to a soaring rise in contentment and happiness.
The resulting zero child mortality will not only reduce trauma but also, together with all other improvements, automatically lead to a self-regulation of the world population to a sustainable level.
To achieve total equality and maximum freedom of each and every human being, the work needed to run the system must be automated. This includes recycling and depletion of resources, agriculture, production and processing of materials and goods, provision and maintenance of physical and digital infrastructure, education and medicare, reforestation and environmental care, necessary waste management, public services and transport, construction and dismantling of housing and other structures (no property, hence no distinction of public and private) et cetera.
Facilitated by abundance of time and heightened in perception of rewardingness by sense of true community, all social activities should still be possible to be performed by humans, on a mutual and voluntary basis, like (occasional) preparation of (communal) meals, taking care of children and elderly citizens, (non-competitive?) team sports and games, physical (and behavioural) therapy, conversation and lovemaking - unless one wishes or needs to employ non-human assistance in these matters.
In addition to that, the liberation from work as imperative basis for survival will enable humans to dedicate themselves to activities for the common good besides social care, such as research and development (imagine the potential of a society of scientists, researchers, philosophers) for the advancement of human-made technology (hard- and software, protection of species, arts & crafts, psychology, aiding progress in transhumanist and efficiency matters to eventually reach universal independence.
For sustainable sufficiency in a 8-12 billion scenario, an automated, maximum efficient distribution of resources is key - both in a sense of logistics as well as in the sense of evenness. The insane logistics of capitalism, where goods are transported across vast distances following the maxim of profit through a grid of unevenly distributed wealth, will be replaced by AI-calculated route networks and an automated logistics infrastructure, and will work with the same efficiency observed in nature, e.g. in the (potentially optimal) distribution of nutrients within our body or water within a vascular plant.While locational factors might require long distance shipping of some goods or resources (occurrence, climate, terrain, …), a regional context of production and consumption, especially concerning food and household products of daily use, will be prioritized and augmented. Generally, however, transportation will be emission-free and as energy efficient as possible, with energy and materials production also becoming increasingly sustainable as technology advances, while individual energy consumption will be reduced to a minimum.
To ensure zero corruption of the system, automated production and distribution will be monitored, supervised/administrated and constantly improved by an Artificial Intelligence, a complex mechanism crafted and programmed by humans to operate within a carefully defined framework regarding the panhumanist ideology and the overall limitations such a mechanism should be subjected to. However, the AI will have extensive control over the general administration and governance of the global system, or better - that machine will be the core enabler of said system.
Naturally, to prevent abuse of power or exploitation of the system by human force, executive and judiciary will also be within the AI’s responsibility. If necessary, humane and modest sanctions, along with therapeutical support or other aid programmes, will be applied with sense of proportion to citizens willfully disturbing or attacking the peace or violating panhumanist principles within rules and laws set by the legislative process carried out by a congress or council of a reasonable number (fit to achieve decisions, large enough to ensure diversity of perspectives for proper judgement) of randomly appointed humans from all over the world limited to one year of service, also in charge of steadily supervising and improving/updating the framework of the AI with regard to recent technological and social developments. Most importantly, the council will constantly carefully monitor the mechanism in respect of its power and keep it in balance and within limits.
NOFIN likes to state that we do not expect the arrival of sentient machines / artificial superintelligence (anytime soon), so AI box experiment fantasies or a skynet scenario seem highly unlikely, given that there is no concept on how to surmount the current approach of all AI programming as cascading chains of ever more complex algorithms performing (and “learning”/adding) single predefined tasks in a trial and error process (“Narrow AI”), or understand, decode and replicate the complex structures that enable and result in “natural” intelligence (multi modal layer theory).
In any case, since total automation will be mandatory to achieve true equality, and true equality will be mandatory for the continued existence of mankind (to prevent extinction by the inhumane death spiral of mutated capitalist dynamics), the risk of harmful effects deriving from the extreme potential and leverage of the described mechanism must be taken.
To be free, we’ll have no chance but to obey.