Where did spirituality/religion come from, and where is it going?

[Clarke]

Originally Posted by auroraglacialis

Why not let the machines do the work and bum out. Certainly all the wonderous inventions would at least make it possible to work less than a person living in the 15th century. But it doesnt work that way - because there is something fundamentally wrong with the assumptions that we need more progress to fulfil our needs alone, that we need perpetual growth just to maintain the level we have now.

That statement is correct -any one who does not grow (acquire wealth) will be left behind in poverty by those who do. However, thee's an assumption tied into it that is flawed: that jobs are necessary, and that if you do not work, you do not "deserve" wealth. If the machines do all the work, the economy crashes because we're not used to the idea of post-scarcity.