I think that, the larger/less tightly-coupled the societal unit, the easier it is for people to take advantage of others. Utopian ideologies only work if almost everyone sees the benefits and no one can subvert them, and even then only if there is cultural continuity over time.

Gen-X here, can confirm. The World of Tomorrow is today, and it sucks hard. Every dystopian sci-fi of my youth is coming true. I am not sure I want to know what the future is going to look like.

You realize it was a joke, right? I mean, the crying-laughing emoji was intended to indicate that subtle humor was in play.

4. When it emits CO2! 😂 😥

I use the cashier because I don’t work for the store, they do (it’s not the best job, but they obviously need it). Corporations would love it if we stocked the shelves and mopped the floors, too. Maybe they could turn the lights out and we could use our phones’ flashlights to save on electricity, as well. They could give rewards points for snitching on people who don’t scan all their items (“Help keep prices down by joining our Volunteer Loss Prevention Program!”).

So if everyone used self-checkout, groceries would be cheaper…

That’s not how capitalism works.