Rusikoff is arguing for a return to the peasant economy - the problem, of course, is that 85% of North Americans, 80% of South Americans, 90% of Europeans and 88% of Asians live in cities. Ahh! But Jeron Lanier already solved this problem! They'll make "digital stuff!" The same "digital stuff" that everyone is grabbing for free? Well, yes. Except if you read Lanier, he's firmly of the opinion that people will pay an extra $30 for MP3s if it comes with a bitchin' limited edition necklace (no shit). The whole problem with this bongsmoke utopia is that in order for people to benefit from "producing" things, someone has to WANT those things. Considering the article is all about how nobody needs "things" any more, all the rest of it is just smoke and mirrors to make you not notice that the drive of the article is "everybody hang out in your loft and make funny hats for Second Life." What we lack is employment - meaningful, challenging work that rewards a person for engaging in it. We no longer pluck chickens and pick nits for a living because 200 years of education has made that an unacceptable avocation for most of humanity. People need to do things in order to not hate life. Do they need their livelihood directly tied to their labor? No. But they still need "jobs."