Love the culture series! Communism… In space!!! Though I’d say to anyone who hasn’t read them yet to skip the first and come back to it. It’s a great novel, but it smells like the 80’s. Was my first read in the series and it turned me off to the rest of them until years later when I have the series another chance
IMHO, post-scarcity is really the only way communism works. And it’s not true communism in the Culture; people still own things - artifacts, art, themselves. And it’s also not communism in the Marxist sense, where the workers own the means of production, because there isn’t a working class and production is largely automated. It’s some sort of post-Communism thing we don’t have a name for. Or, maybe we do, and I just don’t know it?
You’re right; AFAICR, the economy is only ever depicted from a human perspective. Either in contrast to external cultures, or just describing daily life. Your Guinea Pig example is quite apt: humans in The Culture really are just pampered pets; or, maybe more like working dogs, although ship remotes could probably do all the stuff Contact agents do.
Have you ever read The Golden Oecumene trilogy, by Wright? The last chapter, in particular, is what I’m thinking of.
Love the culture series! Communism… In space!!! Though I’d say to anyone who hasn’t read them yet to skip the first and come back to it. It’s a great novel, but it smells like the 80’s. Was my first read in the series and it turned me off to the rest of them until years later when I have the series another chance
IMHO, post-scarcity is really the only way communism works. And it’s not true communism in the Culture; people still own things - artifacts, art, themselves. And it’s also not communism in the Marxist sense, where the workers own the means of production, because there isn’t a working class and production is largely automated. It’s some sort of post-Communism thing we don’t have a name for. Or, maybe we do, and I just don’t know it?
I’ve only read one post-scarcity novel and that’s Down And Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow. I think it’s his first novel.
I’ve heard of it, and I like Doctorow, but haven’t read it. I’ll put it in the list.
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You’re right; AFAICR, the economy is only ever depicted from a human perspective. Either in contrast to external cultures, or just describing daily life. Your Guinea Pig example is quite apt: humans in The Culture really are just pampered pets; or, maybe more like working dogs, although ship remotes could probably do all the stuff Contact agents do.
Have you ever read The Golden Oecumene trilogy, by Wright? The last chapter, in particular, is what I’m thinking of.