I always had this idealistic scenario in my mind.
Imagine that everything would be free for everyone. There will be enough resources for every person on the planet, so one would only need to go to that bakery and take a bread whenever he or she needs it, right? Or get that new phone when they really need it. Or gas, or whatever service one might need.
The first days, maybe weeks or months might be disastrous, as some people would take as much as possible for themselves. But then, after a while, I think everybody would realize that everything is there, all the time - whenever they want something - so the need to take as much as possible right now would simply go away.
Let me give you a few examples.
We've all chased girls or boys during our life, right? Girls in my case. :D Have you noticed that situation when the person you liked is simply there for you, all the time? Have you noticed how your mind changes? How you stop wanting them so bad? How you'll only go and meet them if you really need them around?
Or take another one.
When I was a kid and got internet at home for the first time, I was glued to the computer screen day and night searching and reading about everything I could think of. For like 3 days. Afterwards I realized that the internet will be there all the time, so I simply didn't want it anymore. It was there, whenever I needed it.
I'm thinking that the same thing would happen in my idealistic scenario of this world. You only need something you don't or can't have. That's us, humans. But if you can have anything you wish for, those wild cravings we sometimes have will just go away.
It's just that our minds need to figure that out. Somehow. I would think this is possible, only if most of our needs would be met, and nobody would suffer from hunger or thirst or lack of anything.
If all of a sudden, we would all share everything with everybody, that problem will be solved.
But we're so afraid of losing the precious stuff we've worked so hard for...
I do think that a drastic shift in the human mind is possible, but that it might take so long to happen. Our minds are still in the flight or fight mode most of the time, so that's what we need to work on. But I believe that something like the Basic Universal Income has the power to switch that mode off and get us past it to better horizons here on our little blue planet.