[ssssvd]

You can do exactly that right now - just stop working. You don't have to. Nobody ever had to. Would the overall productive output of humanity for goods that matter drop significantly if you opt-out? Probably not at all.

The problem, though, is, a job secures your place in the goods distribution scheme, and the scheme in general rewards certain behaviours that lead to (sometimes outsized) gains for the broader society. So what's the new scheme is going to be?

It's not just wealth redistribution. It's keeping people busy. It's suppressing antisocial behaviour on massive scale. It's rewarding polite social interactions - and even basic hygiene. Recall the second half of the first COVID year, and how rapidly a good chunk of population degraded into absolute slobbery.

Surprisingly, it's a much easier question for China than it is for US. Privately owned AI is about as smart as privately owned nuclear weapons.