A specific passage in the Epilogue that got me thinking is when Wheelan is discussing how many minutes of work a loaf of bread will cost in 2050. He discusses the probable continual increase in productivity and then asks, "How rich is rich enough?"
Is there a point when Americans will become satisfied with the state of our nation's wealth and decide to work less? The economic theory states that to a certain point people will work more as wages go up, and then they will work less and value time more than money. This decrease in work would not necessarily change how much we produce. With continually increasing productivity, we can either decide to work the same amount and produce more or work less and produce the same amount.
It seems that Americans would have differing opinions in 2050 as to which of these options is chosen; some may choose to work the same amount while others think we should all work less. This is a very intriguing question and it will be interesting to see what really happens in 2050.
No comments:
Post a Comment