62
votes
In a capitalist society where automation has made the value of human labour worthless. What would keep the rich from just killing off the poor?
Ostentatious displays of wealth never go out of style
"Ah, nice gardening 'bot you've got there, Chauncey. That's the N-3000, right?"
"Please. The N-3700. The N-3000 is so last year. ...
- 32.4k
40
votes
Accepted
How easy is it to fake being in a different social class?
"Rich" and "poor" are not in themselves social classes; there have always been rich commoners and poor noblemen. For example, the main character of Théophile Gautier's Captain ...
- 93.9k
19
votes
In a capitalist society where automation has made the value of human labour worthless. What would keep the rich from just killing off the poor?
This is a Frame Challenge
What you're proposing is so unrealistic that it's unbelievable.
This question fits the classic "how can I defeat my godlike character?" question. You've created a ...
- 128k
17
votes
How can a matriarchal society be maintained?
Cultural Inertia
Culture changes slowly. Look at the real world. The difference between men and women was largely erased in the industrial revolution. But we are still grappling with sexism in its ...
- 66.2k
15
votes
How easy is it to fake being in a different social class?
It depends how deep you want the deception to go. Are you trying to fool society at large or are you trying to fool a small group of people in a more intimate setting?
For the first one, I'd say its ...
- 23.8k
14
votes
Accepted
Why do all magic schools have streaming?
We go at the speed of the slowest student.
Classes go at the speed of the weakest student. If you go faster the weaker students get left behind and you "waste" teaching hours by teaching ...
- 66.2k
14
votes
In a capitalist society where automation has made the value of human labour worthless. What would keep the rich from just killing off the poor?
What's the incentive?
Capitalists move for profit. It seems that genocide for the point of genocide is not very appealing to anyone, aside from rare cases such as Hitler (and even then he had some ...
- 813
14
votes
How can a matriarchal society be maintained?
This is something that does not need solving
You are essentially doing a "Midi-chlorians": providing a explanation that the audience do not want, to a dilemma that does not exist.
Why does ...
- 43.9k
12
votes
In a capitalist society where automation has made the value of human labour worthless. What would keep the rich from just killing off the poor?
Nothing
It's true that the wealthy have no use for the vast majority of the population, and regard them as dangerous parasites. But they still desire some things that require a substantial population ...
- 15.4k
8
votes
How easy is it to fake being in a different social class?
Accuracy is not only achievable, it's not even necessary
Making something convincing is not the same thing as making it accurate. People have successfully pulled off outrageously audacious scams in ...
- 8,831
8
votes
Earth is starting to become a multi-species society. Should we be worried about a multi-species caste system?
Should we be worried about a caste system based on species traits in a multi-species society?
No.
What you've listed are not species traits, they're stereotypes. Human history itself is full of ...
- 78.4k
8
votes
How easy is it to fake being in a different social class?
Any aristocracy originates as a sort of Mafia. For example, in 1066 Don William, of the Normandy Family, decided to take over the territory of the Godwinson Family, aka England. Having become Boss, he ...
- 930
8
votes
How can a matriarchal society be maintained?
It is an issue of Psychology and Sociology, not Physiology
To make a matriarchy outcompete a patriarchy, you do not need to improve the personal fitness of a specific leader, you need to improve the ...
- 101k
7
votes
Accepted
Primogeniture/marriage/clans/etc in a hermaphroditic species
First, this kind of setup doesn't have to eliminate patrilineal and matrilineal inheritances or tracking - there might easily be a distinction between children sired or borne by an individual, and ...
- 4,934
7
votes
Why do all magic schools have streaming?
Because magic is dangerous in the wrong hands.
There are basically three categories of people, and magic.
At the very bottom are people who are pretty bad at magic. They can't manage more complicated ...
- 41.6k
6
votes
Primogeniture/marriage/clans/etc in a hermaphroditic species
If there is any logic of social dominance within a married couple, regardless of the lack of sex/gender, then most concepts of a traditional gender-oriented society could be adapted. There are ...
- 231
6
votes
How does military rank structure affect position?
There is a big difference between now (peace) and then (war)
First, this question fluctuates wildly over time and by country. I will concentrate on what I know well, US forces since WWII. By and ...
- 85.7k
5
votes
How easy is it to fake being in a different social class?
I would approach the problem as by treating "class mannerism" as a generic "cultural" thing.
If you're somewhat familiar with the target culture, it will be easier for you to adopt ...
- 653
5
votes
Accepted
Creating a new form of societal hierarchy
Groups seem to create caste groupings based on what is valued.
If you were ever in High School in the US, you might see athletic ability as the caste determination. The top caste when I went was ...
- 21.7k
5
votes
Accepted
How can a mage who can only cast in-situ thermonuclear explosion spell moves up the ranks?
Learning other skills to make them better than other nuclear mages
These nuclear mages seem like effective deterrents, as in the sense of 'You'd better not take this border fortress because we've got ...
- 40.4k
5
votes
Accepted
How does military rank structure affect position?
For modern armies, the basic ranks, understood by everybody, are as follows (shamelessly copied from Wikipedia):
...
- 93.9k
5
votes
In a capitalist society where automation has made the value of human labour worthless. What would keep the rich from just killing off the poor?
Frame Challenge:
Assuming you are thinking about automation that has reached a point where it can self-perform the design, production, operation, and maintenance in order to provide its owners with ...
- 11.1k
4
votes
How Can I Keep an Economy Stable Using Food as Currency?
There are several problems with your premise.
Money is something that has to circulate. If a society has a monetary economy, the circulation of commodities is intimately tied to the circulation of ...
- 3,255
4
votes
Accepted
What is a good title (name prefix) for a class of society that serves as both a civil servant and clergy all in one?
Prefect (from the Latin praefectus, substantive adjectival[1] form of praeficere: "put in front", i.e., in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but which, basically, refers to the ...
- 32.1k
4
votes
In a capitalist society where automation has made the value of human labour worthless. What would keep the rich from just killing off the poor?
There are an awful lot of poor people and if the AI and the capital class get to trigger happy there might well be a revolution.
Revolutions can be a bit unpredictable but can lead to the leaders of ...
- 38.3k
4
votes
In a capitalist society where automation has made the value of human labour worthless. What would keep the rich from just killing off the poor?
There are multiple psychological/sociological reasons for the rich to refrain from specicide. If we take the "rich" to be either the 1%, or the 1% of the 1%...
Killing everyone else ...
- 12.5k
4
votes
I would like others to explain social classes in a space opera setting to me
You should probably look at a united human government through a "Federal Lens" as well. In both Star Wars and Star Trek, the space government unites different planets both of human majority ...
- 10.9k
4
votes
How can a matriarchal society be maintained?
Where does a couple live upon marriage?
If a women joins her husbands village:
Then you have a village better able to do snap-defense against threats. Better able to do snap-defense due to males in ...
- 4,869
3
votes
Earth is starting to become a multi-species society. Should we be worried about a multi-species caste system?
Yes very worried indeed.
The world used to be a multi-species society. There were multiple species of hominids alive at the same time such as Homo Sapiens and Homo Neanderthalensis (depending on how ...
- 38.3k
3
votes
How easy is it to fake being in a different social class?
I believe that it is difficult, but just how difficult it is depends on the particular society.
You mentioned which fork to use for the appetizer, but how about knowing what is (and what isn't) ...
- 119k
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