Crime in a Post Scarcity Society

What would it be like to live in a post scarcity society? Basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, education, would all be universally met with minimal labor. Would safety be guaranteed? Would there be no crime? I had a dream about it one day that made me think about life in this kind of society in a new way. 

I woke up on a couch in a dark room with black walls. There was a kitchen behind me, and I heard a couple talking. They talked about how they stole archaeological artifacts like a knife from Ancient Egypt or a Renaissance painting. The lady talked about how they needed to hide it before others knew they had it. He wished they spent more time in Northern France digging for WWI artifacts. I said that I was also interested in WWI artifacts and the woman became angry. 

I noticed she threw her fancy leather jacket with exaggerated shoulder pads into a furnace under a counter in the kitchen. The man showed me his collection of silk ties and scarves in a closet next to the kitchen. The woman went to another machine, pushed a button, and freshly steamed clothes made specifically for her size appeared. She asked me if I wanted anything. They explained to me that the machines gave them anything they wanted for free. 

"Even the painting?"

"No," the man said, "it is an artifact to be enjoyed by all. But I want it. I worked hard to get it."

I woke up in my own bed, in my own dimension, thinking about crime in a post scarcity society. Crime isn't always committed because of lack of resources. Sometimes it is for the thrill of breaking the rules. Sometimes it is because the criminal receives pleasure from hurting others. I am sure this has been written about in many science fiction stories. 

It was disturbing to see these people get whatever they wanted, any piece of clothing, any kind of food, their apartment decorated luxuriously but all they cared about was possessing something they couldn't have. Something that can't be replicated. 

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