we are never going to return to this state of affairs before capitalism of communal farming societies with no profit motive, but those are examples you can point your friend to to prove that different reasons for labor have existed and diminished and still we labor, and it's like, pretty certain that in the future labor will still be required just in different conditions that we currently cannot conceive of. but also, like, voluntary labor has existed in every form of society, because we are humans and while ppl in the comments r right that human nature doesnt exist in the way most ppl perceive it, like, you'd be hard pressed to ever find a time in human civilization we weren't just doing a few things for the hell of it. why do cave art when you can't sell it?! were they stupid?!

it’s also that automation might resolve a lot of the need for different types of labour, service sector too, but voluntary labour for things like cooking, art, etc. exist right now and many people will flourish without the need to divert their energy into other things in this, admittedly abstract and not uet real, conception of a communist society.

as star said we don’t know for certain, but it’s silly to pretend like that’s really going to negate anyone’s willingness to do things for the heck of it. not to mention some pf these thankless tasks are crucial to the function of society ajd some people posited communal engagement in these tasks. as for other thankless tasks we do it now in a society entirely centered on capital and people express all the time how they want to if not for that need to subsist and earn wages. does your friend think hobbies will die out or flourish without capitalism?