Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
The point is that our gains in productivity have benefitted us in dramatically higher material standards of living. Which answers the question posed of why we haven’t chosen to turn those productivity gains into more free time.
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I think there are hardcore diminishing returns on our extra luxuries, though. Like, electricity, running water, family vehicle, 1000sf bungalow...those were all giant steps up. Granite counter tops, two sinks in the master bedroom, renovations every 20 years, massaging seats in my car...they don't add a whole lot, but they're expensive.
I believe the bigger issue is most of us don't have the option of working less than a standard five-day week. My family would happily take a 40% pay cut, ditch a car, not fly anywhere for vacation and camp in a tent if it meant we could work three days a week, but those options don't seem to exist. Or even if - as younger people getting started - we could have worked five days a week and then start tapering it back as our financial foundation improves. From what I see out there, it's generally a full-time job or a menial part-time job. There will be exceptions, but there aren't many reasonable/professional employment options for somebody content to make less and work less.
So, you can find yourself in a position of working more and making more money. You can shovel a bunch away for retirement if you want to get out of the workforce ASAP, but while you're in it and working your balls off, you may as well spend any excess on luxuries to make the five-day grind more palatable, which is what it seems like everybody does. Basically, we're trapped in the five-day work week, so we're all trying to make the best of it.
All of that is to say, on an individual level, we don't really have the choice/option to turn productivity gains into more free time.