[throwaway9812]

Are you serious? People work currently, because that's the way _society_ works, currently. We have convinced ourselves that everyone either works or reaps the benefits of having worked (which is why he "justly" owns the means of production).

However, your question is meaningless _if_ everything is produced by robots. Nobody will be able to charge for anything, because the justification for the current way wealth is distributed will be gone: Nobody works, or will have worked or can pretend to have worked: Charging for products will be difficult to justify. Therefore, things will be free and there is no need to "earn a living".

If the powers to be would have it otherwise, there _will_ be a revolution. Or people will move to a country where the robot dividend is fairly distributed.

[seren]

Until now revolution have pitched humans against other humans. And in most successful revolution, at one point, the police/army refuses to shoot on the protestors anymore. (or oust themselves the current head of state)

I don't necessary have a really bleak view of the future, but I wonder what would a revolution would looked like with a robotized police. You could hope that at one point someone on the loyalist side would press the robot kill switch.

But taking today's world as an example, I wonder what would Assad or Gaddafi would have done with an army of robots.

[throwaway9812]

My point was not really that the revolution actually has to happen. Political pressure will build up long before and things will get sorted out peacefully.

[JoeAltmaier]

...or some other rationing of goods will occur. When things are free, people waste them. When they cost even a nickel, they don't. So some credit system (basic income?) and some cost function will be necessary, because people are people.

[superuser2]

In a world where property rights exist, you don't need a justification to charge for something, you just can.