

The rich are only rich because the money they possess can be exchanged directly or indirectly for people’s labour. Without it, the money is valueless and the rich cease to be. It’s also one reason why labour strikes are so effective and the rich have had to create militias to prevent them.
I understand completely what you’re saying and I have considered it. I just don’t believe we’ll ever get to the point where a fully automated system produces all necessary goods for high standard of living without human labour required. Worse, even if we get to the point where significantly less labour is required, history informs us that the unemployed would very likely revolt and take power through violence. Especially because we won’t be able to go from the status quo to a state where we neutralize revolting people automatically in a short enough time frame for people to be caught by surprise and unable to revolt. Not to mention that a part of such a revolt would likely include the stoppage of work by people who work on, maintain and operate the automation. I think the most likely scenario as we go down this path would be the formation of militant labour unions that take power back from the rich and steer automation into producing for the majority. Whether we go away from capitalism through this change or reshape it, I don’t have a guess.