I bet you there were quite a few slaves theorizing it right along, too. Not a world filled with automata but a world without masters.
On a world without money: Any time there's something that I don't have to make an immediate exchange of cash for--the free valley-wide UMass bus service, the public library, repairs at the apple store (yes, way out of warranty)--the interaction feels much more natural and fluid, focused on the work at hand and the relationship with other humans doing their work--the driver, the check out desk clerk, the technician--whose work makes it possible for me to do my work. I could easily get used to it.
In planning, money is often used as a system of prioritization--with more 'points' awarded to higher priorities. But these points could just as easily be work time units. We went from money that had intrinsic value (shells, gold) to money that doesn't without much fuss.
Jenny Brown