The idea feels like sci-fi because you’re so used to it, imagining ads gone feels like asking to outlaw gravity. But humanity had been free of current forms of advertising for 99.9% of its existence. Word-of-mouth and community networks worked just fine. First-party websites and online communities would now improve on that.
The traditional argument pro-advertising—that it provides consumers with necessary information—hasn’t been valid for decades.
Any progress does that. The issue is not that there’s less work, the issue is that capitalism makes that into a bad thing.
Less work should mean more leisure, more time for hobbies and passion projects, not reduced living standards.