Unnecessarily combative, I'd say.
However, as you mockingly noted the rich continued to ride horses despite them being outmoded because they’re expensive and high status.
The statement "The Rich continue riding horses..." is meaningless unless quantified.
The fact is that the automobile has grabbed almost all of the niches once occupied by the horse. Of course certain status-conscious people who can afford to do so still own a few pure-breds - but that has failed to compensate for the vast number of other people (and businesses) who once would have had no choice but to own (or rent) a horse, and who now no longer do so, because cars are cheaper, faster, etc. No one can deny that the number of horses alive today in America has decreased, largely due to the automobile.
Human societies are built around status, not economic cheapness [...]
Status-consciousness certainly plays a limited role - but hard economics has been the major driver in all societies since time began. Of course, it's possible that, in a post-scarcity society, time-honored rules and economic paradigms will change.
[...] and ordering other people around will always be high status. Thus there will always be jobs either in serving the rich or in producing handcrafted items for them.
That market will certainly exist - but it won't be large enough to compensate for the loss of meaningful, gainful employment on the part of 95% of the population.
Read the diamond age for a primer on how this works.
Thanks for the book recommendation - but I've already read it.
Nota bene: The above assertions are only that - I can't prove them. They are based only on commonsense and many years of thought on the subject.
Regards,
>Status-consciousness certainly plays a limited role - but hard economics has been the major driver in all societies since time began. Of course, it’s possible that, in a post-scarcity society, time-honored rules and economic paradigms will change.
That’s laughable. There’s never been a single human society driven by economics. The problem with human civilizations is making high-status behavior also useful for war and economic development. America solved this issue for a time by making hard work, getting rich and serving in the military high status. It’s not an accident that we’ve declined as status became getting the right degrees from the right schools and spouting leftist dogma.