When Resources Are Unlimited, What Truly Matters Is The Quality Of Your Story

[Troshen]

So, I've been having some thoughts about the differences between what we do here, and other kinds of roleplaying. I've also been having some thoughts about humanity and the world in general. Things like religion and the millenium, and the singularity.

In the past, humanity was trapped in a malthusian cycle, where the competition for resources led to a nobility with everything and a peasentry with nothing.

But as technology has advanced more and more, fewer people have to work as farmers and hunters and fishermen, just to provide enough food for everyone to survive. Technology has freed people to pursue other things, and so humanity has developed better and better technologies. Predicting that forward into the future arrives at a time when all of our needs are provided for automatically and people don't have to work anymore. And that raises questions like what are people like when they don't have to work? Do they lose all interest and just sit back and do nothing?

What happens when everyone is rich?

There have been a lot of science fiction about that. One interesting one shows the reversal and the poor people have big mansions and are forced by law to use things up and wear things out that the robots provide. The rich people have tiny cars and old worn out clothes. If I can find the story I'll post the name of it.

But here's my conclusion.

Here at places like this, and the other online roleplaying sites, your characters can snap their fingers and have anything they want or need. I think we're exploring that future right now on the internet. Very quickly people realize that you need to elevate your storytelling. For example, the rules that the Inn is indestructible, and that fighting gets you bubbled, and that you only control your own actions and not the actions of others are pretty common. Other places set their rules a bit differently, but they DO have them. Pretty quickly, the quality of the storytelling becomes what matters most.

So here's the thesis.

When Resources Are Unlimited, What Truly Matters Is The Quality Of Your Story


I'd love to hear your thoughts, and what fantasy and science fiction you've read or seen that explores these ideas.