[sfg]

The fisherman seems to like his life, but I'd find it tedious. Plus, if everyone lived the life of the fisherman, then we'd find it difficult to maintain all the things our society provides.

Maybe that would be better, but I doubt it.

Looking at the Jupiter CEO, his retirement sounds dull, although spending time with parents before they go sounds good.

Still, I'd need to do more than sit on a beach.

[slothtrop]

If people valued that care-free lifestyle so much, they'd adopt it. It's possible to get by in Western society doing virtually nothing, if you're willing to sacrifice some comforts. People largely don't care to. More to the point, no one likes feeling stagnant, lost, completely unproductive. There are endless anecdotes to this point among those who've taken the FIRE approach. One guy's partner left him saying she felt "left behind" in their early retirement, despite ostensibly not caring about niceties like a house. They could be as "creative" as they want all day, but that wasn't what was lacking.

It's not really about the "stuff" accumulated, it's the reward of work itself. Mainly, a sense of meaning and social validation. You can quibble over the possibility of being "productive" without a job, but most people don't want to be fucking artisans - they want to get things done and feel useful. We're not all wired to be painters, make pointless software or boutique furniture out of our own volition. If you tell us someone needs to cut these pieces of wood and nail them, someone needs to teach, someone needs to clean, someone needs to fix this bug and ship this software, and banter all the while, and you get paid for the privilege, that's easily more motivating for most people.

[jhugo]

You can do a lot while sitting on a beach.

[sfg]

I've sat on a beach. It isn't for me.