This. I've never been able to put this idea into words. And this phrase doesn't quite capture what I think has been a giant, gaping hole in our economics and society, but it's a great start to putting words to it. Our society and economics are based around the idea that there is great scarcity and everyone must work in order to create things and prove they deserve to survive. But there isn't scarcity. Quite the contrary, there is an over abundance of the basic necessities of life. There is a scarcity of things to do and produce. We've gotten so efficient that we can produce more than enough stuff. The problem we now face, is figuring out how to distribute that stuff in a way that isn't based on working a job (the one thing that is truly scare) for money and using that money to buy stuff.
I had the same reaction. I think you put it quite nicely. We've been distributing things based on working a job. What is more, we don't base it upon the difficulty of the job, but rather on the difficulty of obtaining that job, -the scarcity of that particular job. Maybe this resonates with us, because it we feel that it is already at work. Technology previously reduced the need for the most abundant jobs. But now, jobs that are considered to be more scarce are being replaced. My feeling is that the 'replacement due to technology' doesn't correlate as well as it used to with job scarcity. I saw a 3D printer for the first time last weekend. People are creating machines, toys, replacement parts, add-ons, everything, and sharing the blueprints on line. What happens when you can print your own iPhone?