We work this hard because there's insufficient collective drive to provide rather than extract.
If two people both need something to survive, then collectively the group needs to produce two of those things. But if one of them demands 1000 of that thing, then collectively they need to produce 1001 of that thing to satisfy the demand.
The problem is that the demand for the extra 999 is given equal weight and competes equally for production resources vs the 2 that are actually needed instead of explicitly prioritizing the 2 and then letting the 999 come from a pool of post-needs-fulfillment labor. Right now if you produce only the 2, then most of the time the person who only wants the 1 that they need won't get anything at all.
When the consequence of producing less than the total sum demanded by the wealthy is that some people will then starve and die in a ditch, including possibly you, that hangs like an inverse sword of damocles over the heads of the poor, always threatening those who can't just buy their way out into laboring more than would be otherwise needed.
The very obvious to me solution is to structurally prioritize meeting everyone's common needs for food/water, shelter, and medical care first before then satisfying the desires of the rich who want more. That way rich people can still get all their private jets and fancy cars, but they'll need to pay more to convince people that the loss of their leisure time is worthwhile instead of everyone in the underclass living under constant threat for survival.
BugsJustFindMe
I'm no economist but it seems like competition for housing drives up prices as wages increase. Also, more generally, people's happiness seems to be more correlated with their economic rank in a society, rather than their wealth in absolute terms [1]. So, people want to do better than their neighbors, not just do well.
1. Boyce, Brown & Moore (2010), “Money and Happiness: Rank of Income, Not Income, Affects Life Satisfaction”
jpatten
It's something of a collective action problem even beyond power relations. My motivation to work less than 40h just isn't that high since everyone around me is working 40h too.
Also has to do with demand for savings. The US has a bunch of mostly accidental policies that juice that demand.
barchar
Productivity gains have mostly gone to the investor class, they’re not only not working but making more for not working than they ever have
an0malous
The simple answer is that we will continue to work this hard as long as some members of society are willing to work this hard. The hardest working participants of the labor market will set the tone of the competition for high-paying jobs.
A typical tech job requires far more than 40 hour work weeks.
Dr_Birdbrain
Whitney’s cotton gin increased the speed separating cotton fibers from the sticky seeds by 50x. I wonder if labor will experience similar outcomes with the efficiency AI creates?
dataviz1000
We live in a money-based economy. Money comes from other people, who don't give it away unless you satisfy them somehow. Those people that want work from you, will take all the work you can perform (up to the limit of labor laws). That's why.
quantified
Nobody wants to admit they are having a 15 hour work week with AI, but if in office attendence is any indication, I think many knowledge workers are starting to reduce work hours. It is much easier to do so remotely.
Some are filling hours with more work however it seems like many are not increasing work volume, just quietly reducing the amount of labor.
XenophileJKO
Because the people in charge of deciding which work should be done have decided that we should spend every waking hour making them more powerful. Next!
mitxela
If working people in industrialized society weren't artificially kept indebted and poor (relative to the wealth they should have), then it would be impossible for the rulers to control the population, and they would loose their power.
A ruler will always prefer to rule over 100 wretches, than be an equal with 100 peers. And people all over the world have been bred to submit by relentless head stomping by family, school and media.
But the current order will end without violence and be forgotten as foolishness, just like the spell of the feared Soviet terror regime ended as if people woke up from a dream. Just like the strangle grip of popes, priests and monks ended and is now the source of ridicule. Our children's children will look with nothing but disgust at how the current population worship "governments", "authorities" and so on - all of these illusions made up of some of the least admirable people alive.
comments (10)
If two people both need something to survive, then collectively the group needs to produce two of those things. But if one of them demands 1000 of that thing, then collectively they need to produce 1001 of that thing to satisfy the demand.
The problem is that the demand for the extra 999 is given equal weight and competes equally for production resources vs the 2 that are actually needed instead of explicitly prioritizing the 2 and then letting the 999 come from a pool of post-needs-fulfillment labor. Right now if you produce only the 2, then most of the time the person who only wants the 1 that they need won't get anything at all.
When the consequence of producing less than the total sum demanded by the wealthy is that some people will then starve and die in a ditch, including possibly you, that hangs like an inverse sword of damocles over the heads of the poor, always threatening those who can't just buy their way out into laboring more than would be otherwise needed.
The very obvious to me solution is to structurally prioritize meeting everyone's common needs for food/water, shelter, and medical care first before then satisfying the desires of the rich who want more. That way rich people can still get all their private jets and fancy cars, but they'll need to pay more to convince people that the loss of their leisure time is worthwhile instead of everyone in the underclass living under constant threat for survival.
BugsJustFindMe
1. Boyce, Brown & Moore (2010), “Money and Happiness: Rank of Income, Not Income, Affects Life Satisfaction”
jpatten
Also has to do with demand for savings. The US has a bunch of mostly accidental policies that juice that demand.
barchar
an0malous
A typical tech job requires far more than 40 hour work weeks.
Dr_Birdbrain
dataviz1000
quantified
Some are filling hours with more work however it seems like many are not increasing work volume, just quietly reducing the amount of labor.
XenophileJKO
mitxela
A ruler will always prefer to rule over 100 wretches, than be an equal with 100 peers. And people all over the world have been bred to submit by relentless head stomping by family, school and media.
But the current order will end without violence and be forgotten as foolishness, just like the spell of the feared Soviet terror regime ended as if people woke up from a dream. Just like the strangle grip of popes, priests and monks ended and is now the source of ridicule. Our children's children will look with nothing but disgust at how the current population worship "governments", "authorities" and so on - all of these illusions made up of some of the least admirable people alive.
carlosjobim