First of all, I thought (made an assumption) most people would prefer to have more time to do whatever they wanted to do…rather than to have to “earn a living.” I thought that would be a run-away.
I was wrong. Several people hedged on that…enough so that it was not a given.
Secondly, I thought most people would like to see productivity maximized…so that there would be more of everything that people needed or wanted. I thought that also would be a run-away.
I was wrong there, too. Many people had reasons for why they would not champion maximizing productivity.
Here is my position:
I think people should have to spend much less time “earning a living” and have much more time to do the things they WANT to do. I called that “want to do” time “leisure time” …but I indicated that I did not mean sitting around doing nothing. “Leisure time” OFTEN involves a great deal more “work” than people do while “earning their livings.” And I suspect that for many people, “leisure time” would involve doing the work they do while “earning their livings.” They enjoy what they do…BUT IT WOULD BE A CHOICE RATHER THAN SOMETHING THEY HAVE TO DO in order to stay alive.
I see no politician or political party even touching on this…nobody advocating for making “leisure time” more important than “earning a living” time.
I just wonder why.
Maximizing productivity probably will have to include having machines do as much of the work that has to be done as possible. That, of course, would involve figuring out some way to distribute goods (or money/scrip) so that the people not “earning a living” could continue to live reasonable lives.
Maybe that is the big bugaboo.
I was wrong. Several people hedged on that…enough so that it was not a given.
Secondly, I thought most people would like to see productivity maximized…so that there would be more of everything that people needed or wanted. I thought that also would be a run-away.
I was wrong there, too. Many people had reasons for why they would not champion maximizing productivity.
Here is my position:
I think people should have to spend much less time “earning a living” and have much more time to do the things they WANT to do. I called that “want to do” time “leisure time” …but I indicated that I did not mean sitting around doing nothing. “Leisure time” OFTEN involves a great deal more “work” than people do while “earning their livings.” And I suspect that for many people, “leisure time” would involve doing the work they do while “earning their livings.” They enjoy what they do…BUT IT WOULD BE A CHOICE RATHER THAN SOMETHING THEY HAVE TO DO in order to stay alive.
I see no politician or political party even touching on this…nobody advocating for making “leisure time” more important than “earning a living” time.
I just wonder why.
Maximizing productivity probably will have to include having machines do as much of the work that has to be done as possible. That, of course, would involve figuring out some way to distribute goods (or money/scrip) so that the people not “earning a living” could continue to live reasonable lives.
Maybe that is the big bugaboo.