Why is free time still so elusive?
In the year 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by century’s end, technology would have advanced sufficiently that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have achieved a fifteen-hour work week. There’s every reason to believe he was right. In technological terms, we are quite capable of this. And yet it didn’t happen. Instead
... See moreDavid Graeber • Bullshit Jobs: A Theory
In the 1930s, economists marveled at time-saving technologies and predicted that their grandchildren (us) would be working only around twenty hours per week. They thought we would’ve developed technology and robots to do the majority of our work so we would have more free time to pursue enjoyable and meaningful activities.
Benjamin Hardy • Willpower Doesn't Work: Discover the Hidden Keys to Success
We then made the obligatory reference to the John Maynard Keynes article that predicted that a 15-hour work week would be nearly upon us by now, following a century of strong economic progress. However,
Nick Bostrom • Deep Utopia
Looking back over the past fifty years, the U.S. experience raises troubling questions. We have more than doubled our productive potential, as a result of rising productivity. Had we channeled this “productivity dividend” into leisure time, Americans would have already reached the twenty hour week. But instead we used all of our economic progress t
... See moreJuliet Schor • A Sustainable Economy for the 21st Century (Open Media Series)
Defenders of modern capitalism enjoy pointing out that despite how things might feel, we actually have more leisure time than we did in previous decades—an average of about five hours per day for men, and only slightly less for women. But perhaps one reason we don’t experience life that way is that leisure no longer feels very leisurely. Instead, i... See more