This was such a thoughtful and uplifting read. I love how you’ve taken something as big and often overwhelming as “the end of work” and turned it into a hopeful possibility. Your writing really makes me pause and imagine what life could look like if we weren’t always chasing survival.
Another great article! I love the positive perspective of the future: We desperately need more of this in all aspects of life. A thought that got stuck: The majority of people will face the challenge to rethink their identity. What can we do to support?
Thanks, Philip! So true. I’ve been reflecting a lot on how to best support people through that shift and I’ll share more of my thinking in upcoming newsletters. 🙂
Thanks, Melinda! I'm glad you enjoyed it and are familiar with David's work. That sounds very interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙏🏻
I’m very interested in ownership redistribution > income redistribution because ownership is so much more fundamental to long-term wealth. Elle Griffin is doing a lot of exploration of this space too. Sadly, I’m less optimistic we can ever get there due to a host of reasons; values, corruption, short-termism, existing entitlements, debt, etc.
But fun fact: my parents founded a guaranteed income project that I’m involved in for the same reason you explore here; we need new models to force redistribution or else we’re in trouble (if not already).
It won’t be easy for sure. But the world’s craving change, and with this level of disruption, it’s coming whether we’re ready or not. A positive vision where this could go is so important! I think you can already see the first signs of this shift taking shape. I could write a whole long piece on this and I want to, but here’s what comes to mind right now:
- People’s trust in politics, corporations, and traditional systems is at an all-time low. People have stopped buying the story.
- Reg. values: Gen Z already operates with a completely different set of values.
- They’re already pushing back against suppressive governments, from Nepal to Madagascar.
- People are so fed up with exploitative platforms and are stepping up to make a change. Cooperatives are gaining ground as fair, locally owned alternatives to companies like Uber. (See article I just read now)
- Blockchain is finally growing up. It lets people coordinate directly, peer to peer, without a hierarchy sitting on top. What’s happening there is incredible, but also easy to miss, because it's an outside-in technology being built outside the system.
As David Shapiro put it in his writing:
“Of course, you might wonder why anyone would voluntarily share ownership...But broadening ownership has nothing to do with charity, it’s survival. It’s enlightened self-interest. If people have no income, they stop spending.”
This was a really thought-provoking post. You have convinced me to go and read David Shapiro's work. 😁
Thank you, Pamela! Yes, can highly encourage you to go do so! 🙂
This was such a thoughtful and uplifting read. I love how you’ve taken something as big and often overwhelming as “the end of work” and turned it into a hopeful possibility. Your writing really makes me pause and imagine what life could look like if we weren’t always chasing survival.
Thanks so much, Anil. You captured exactly what I was trying to achieve with this piece and that’s the best reward. 🙂
🙏🏻
Another great article! I love the positive perspective of the future: We desperately need more of this in all aspects of life. A thought that got stuck: The majority of people will face the challenge to rethink their identity. What can we do to support?
Thanks, Philip! So true. I’ve been reflecting a lot on how to best support people through that shift and I’ll share more of my thinking in upcoming newsletters. 🙂
I really enjoyed this post, Iwana and I also read David Shapiro's framework for a Post Labor Economics. It's become clear that without new social contracts, we can not attain abundance and prosperity. I'm going to do a bit more research on the topic but I came across this from the Creative Commons and thought may be you would find it interesting too. https://creativecommons.org/2025/06/25/introducing-cc-signals-a-new-social-contract-for-the-age-of-ai/#:~:text=Read%20about%20the%20technical%20implementation,share%20feedback%20and%20ask%20questions.
Thanks, Melinda! I'm glad you enjoyed it and are familiar with David's work. That sounds very interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙏🏻
I became familiar with David's work because you pointed it out to me :) Keep on writing!
Great, that's very motivating, thank you! 🙂
I’m very interested in ownership redistribution > income redistribution because ownership is so much more fundamental to long-term wealth. Elle Griffin is doing a lot of exploration of this space too. Sadly, I’m less optimistic we can ever get there due to a host of reasons; values, corruption, short-termism, existing entitlements, debt, etc.
But fun fact: my parents founded a guaranteed income project that I’m involved in for the same reason you explore here; we need new models to force redistribution or else we’re in trouble (if not already).
It won’t be easy for sure. But the world’s craving change, and with this level of disruption, it’s coming whether we’re ready or not. A positive vision where this could go is so important! I think you can already see the first signs of this shift taking shape. I could write a whole long piece on this and I want to, but here’s what comes to mind right now:
- People’s trust in politics, corporations, and traditional systems is at an all-time low. People have stopped buying the story.
- Reg. values: Gen Z already operates with a completely different set of values.
- They’re already pushing back against suppressive governments, from Nepal to Madagascar.
- People are so fed up with exploitative platforms and are stepping up to make a change. Cooperatives are gaining ground as fair, locally owned alternatives to companies like Uber. (See article I just read now)
- Blockchain is finally growing up. It lets people coordinate directly, peer to peer, without a hierarchy sitting on top. What’s happening there is incredible, but also easy to miss, because it's an outside-in technology being built outside the system.
As David Shapiro put it in his writing:
“Of course, you might wonder why anyone would voluntarily share ownership...But broadening ownership has nothing to do with charity, it’s survival. It’s enlightened self-interest. If people have no income, they stop spending.”
https://substack.com/home/post/p-151560076