[willholloway]

In a far off yet inevitable future of bounty and abundance... physical and emotional pain have been edited out of our genetic code, replaced by neurochemically enhanced empathy & bliss & a lavish minimum income frees our leaders to put social good ahead of job security.

Until then, we're still living primitively... in the jungle as a savage, infant race.

[harshreality]

Emotional pain is critical for empathy. Unless you believe in the purely rational theory of human behavior, people have to feel what will be emotionally painful for others before acting in a way that minimizes emotional pain.

Physical pain is also important. It keeps you from doing stupid things that end up with you getting hurt.

Both mental and physical pain can be modulated/reduced somewhat through psychological training (one form of which would be meditation). I think making pain reduction any easier could cause more problems than it solves.

[MereInterest]

Sounds like the Maximum Fun-Fun Ultra Super Happy People from this short story. (Page 3/8)

http://lesswrong.com/lw/y5/

It goes through the horror of what that implies.

[wh-uws]

is that from a movie?

[mortenjorck]

Going to guess Arthur C. Clarke, but I've never actually read any of his books.