Sure folks do what they love without renumeration. However if you want to see consistent across the board progress in all fields of endeavor, capitalist competition is the surest method of insuring this progress.

Gordon Gecko says "Greed is good. Greed Works." And while he was being cast as an evil archetype, crooked capitalist & exploiter, the writers accidentally hit on a fundamental truth - namely man is never satisfied with the status quo.

You illustrated that for me when you talked about 3ghz chips feeling like a dog. At no point does man ever feel content or satisfied. As such his lot in life is to attain and acquire that which he does not have. The applies to knowledge, possessions, companionship, solitude, whatever.

So knowing that you have a planet filled with people and resources, how do you facilitate this fundamental process in man?

A communistic society that allows everyone to do what they love or what they are best at is by no means the most efficient set up at this time.

Some people are good at things they hate to do and many love to do stuff they are inept at. Forcing them into their aptitudes isn't a good solution either, as it will merely create resentment.

Capitalism and free markets allow for freedom of expression and if you can profit from what you love to do, you will not only be happy, but will have the means to climb the wealth ladder and acquire more of these things one seeks out.

Communism and equality just don't get together. If it is a community modeled after Marx's writings, then Marx becomes the dictator. Participants may delude themselves into thinking they are free, but they are already subjecting themselves to another "ism" and the rules and regulations that go along with it. Even an ideal communist society has inequality in abundance. It's unavoidable.

Capitalism isn't free either. It's not ideal. No system is ideal, because of this disparity present in all humanity. It's merely the most workable at this time.

I've lived in all sorts of societies. I've lived in what would be termed "ideal communism" where your proclivities are your bread and butter and you can have a meal whenever you wish or a fresh change of clothes and a free roof over your head. And if you just want to loaf and do nothing, that's ok too. A place where money doesn't exist. Where technology has finally brought about an almost infinite supply of energy and there is no shortage of food or materials, and it's very nice. It's very pleasant. Unfortunately, it requires a consistent level of development in humanity that doesn't exist on earth at this time.

It wouldn't work now, in the 21st century, or for centuries into the foreseeable future.

Two elements are essential for communism as you & MA seek to work - extreme technocratic development and extreme mental development.

With machines and robots doing the majority of the manual labor and producing goods, the majority of the population can pursue their various interests and proclivities. Living without want however, requires a very developed and disciplined mind. That drive I mentioned earlier always presents a problem. When man has all the material needs covered most men would then seek fame or power. They must seek something.

This is where that mental development comes in. These societies only work when the population seeks to better themselves and pursue only the accumulation of knowledge and experience.

How many folks do you know that only have such noble and high-minded ideals about their purpose in life?

That's why capitalism is the best alternative for the masses alive on earth today. It's the learning ground for their future development. Once they outgrow their base desires and supplant them with more developed ideals, then they will harmonically attract their participation in one of these societies.

What would happen if you took those who were ready to live in such a "ideal communistic" society and planted them there? The rest of the world would envy them and their technocracy/QOL and would seek to take this for themselves. Wars would be inevitable. And if you plant even one individual who is not yet as altruistic as the society as a whole, you'll have problems.

Today such a society would foster laziness and indolence. More likely than not it would lead to excesses and hedonism. The US already exhibits such due to our high QOL and technocracy.

Marx was ahead of his time. Way ahead of his time. He had no idea how horribly destructive a communistic system can be to those who are not truly ready for it. Seeing workers, slaves, suffering, wealth and disparity seem unjust and seem to demand balance.

Human nature seeks out this balance. That drive to acquire is part of this balancing process. With each new level and each new understanding comes a new point of equilibrium and so the quest for balance is unending.

However Marx could not see the balance in suffering. He could not see that everyone was perfectly placed to maximize their own development. Once one sees behind the facade of life, one realizes that all is in balance, even when it appears to be a screaming discordant holocaust.

This gives one that peace of mind, that all seek but few possess. Once you can see life in much the same manner, you'll be ready for that ideal communistic society.

Well that's today's dissertation from a former member of an "ideal communistic" society.

;-)

PS. I wasn't cast out...I left of my own volition.