Melancholy Elephants

= a story by science fiction writer Spider Robinson

Description

"Robinson argues that we'll need some way to preserve human dignity in an economy when human beings are fundamentally unnecessary. As such, a large portion of the population will live on subsidies and handouts but register as professional artists. They won't be professionals in the sense that their work will earn money, but in the sense that they'll be able to lay claim to a pursuit that gives their life meaning and their days structure." (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/08/dystopia_in_the_outlook_sectio.html)