The consumer driven economy is for people who don't naturally automate things

Consumption doesn't improve economy or humanity in general. Neither does production. If you want to help, start automating things.

Imagine that the entirety of human society ate ice cream sandwiches and that there were only two jobs in society: people who make churn ice cream and people who bake cookies. A society focused on consumption would ask everyone to eat more ice cream sandwiches. When an ice cream churner eats more sandwiches he'll have to buy more cookies. And in order to buy more cookies he'll have to spend more time churning ice cream. The cookie baker is getting the same message about consuming more; he spends more time baking cookies to trade for his ice cream. At this point, both of them are getting fat from their excessive consumption and working harder pay for it all.

Is the world better off? Both already had enough ice cream sandwiches before they were urged to consume more. Both are now working harder for things they don't need. When they grow old and die, the world is pretty much the way it started.

Of course, if they were intelligent people they'd try to improve the production of cookies and ice cream. With increased automation they'll get more product for their effort instead of just working more. And unlike working harder, the process improvements can be passed on to the next generation.

Did they need increased consumption to drive that improvement? Would they not have automated the process just for the sake of having to work less? Is it true that we will only automate the processes we're working on once we're working long hours for things we don't need?

We all know working long hours to buy the Nike's that commercial sold you is foolish. Fewer are willing to admit the culturally-exploratory, finding-yourself vacation experience we read about on a travel blog has pretty much the same level of benefit to society. If we want to break the cycle of working long hours just to get fat, let's stop working those long hours, stop spending that money, and use that time to automate something. It's the automation that frees us from the consumption/production cycle.

Unlike contracts, reputation is an effective system

I have contracts for certain things. Mostly things I hate. For example, the cable company, credit cards, and the licensed geotechnical engineer that the city made me hire in building my house. I don’t know if the cable company or the credit card issuers have violated their end of the agreement we have because I don’t remember what the fine print is and it would take a lawyer to know every loophole possible. It probably has a clause in there saying they can change it at any time anyways. As for the geotechnical engineer, he did a poor job the first time around and we had to redesign, which I had to pay him and others for. But I can’t sue for breach of contract because I need his buyoff with the city to finish the design and construction. I also know plenty of people who were owed money in a contract and didn't get paid because the other party went bankrupt, which especially common for corporations. These contracts are useless to me.

Even if I wanted to use contracts more often they’re too cumbersome. To make agreements I’d have to pay a lawyer to write them. Also, only a court could pass a judgment if they breach their contract, which I gather is usually months or years backlogged and isn't worth it for minor breaches. Even then, I’d probably have to pay another 3rd party to actually physically enforce it since that's not what cops seem to do unless they have some other personal interest. It just doesn't work very well.

Now reputation, that’s something I use every day for both little and big things. I read reviews of products before I buy them and write reviews after I do. I ask my friends for referrals on who will build my house and that's turned out excellently. I make deals with people at work about dates when I'll deliver things and I deliver them even when I know I could weasel my way out of having to do so, because I want to maintain a good reputation. Even the corporations don't often take people to court on their contracts, they just dock non-payers reputation in the credit-scores they have. All of these things rest on reputation.

At this point, it seems like a contract is only valuable in enumerating the position of two parties that are being honest already. It doesn't protect me from crooks. It doesn't protect me from the unexpected. If I could just have a reputation system on everyone and everything I’d stop using contracts entirely.

Privacy is for criminals like us

The bank called me to ask about some wire transfers on my account. They claimed to do so because of account monitoring for the USA Patriot act.

Why wouldn't I answer their questions? I'm not a terrorist, after all, so I have nothing to hide. Or wait, I do have things to hide, they're just not terrorism. Maybe I do drugs they don't think you should be allowed to do. Maybe I have a sex life my neighbors wouldn't approve of. Maybe I eat stuff they wouldn't eat, I give to charities they wouldn't give to, I think ideas and worship gods that they do not. Privacy is how I can protect myself from their judgement and demands.

Privacy isn't about "I'm doing nothing wrong so I have nothing to hide." Privacy is about doing something most people think is wrong but isn't because it doesn't affect anyone else.

A lot of things used to be illegal. Alcohol, inter-racial marriage, being gay, Christianity, astronomy, American Independence. But privacy protects these things, it protects victim-less 'crimes' from an oppressive majority. It protects criminals like us.