The way to get to A is through people working. We didn’t get from where we were 100 years ago to now because society as a whole was fine with working the minimum amount needed to sustain life.
People consume a hell of a lot more now than 1950. Houses are bigger, we buy more clothes, eat more food, have more gadgets. The yacht class can only consume so much.
> People consume a hell of a lot more now than 1950.
The graph is true regardless.
Americans could be working 20 hours a week without society falling apart. The only thing that would change would be to the yacht class - who would still be very very wealthy.
> Houses are bigger, we buy more clothes, eat more food, have more gadgets.
How much more does housing cost? I'll save you the effort - it's fully twice as much per square foot, adjusted for inflation.
How much more temporary and flimsy are our clothes?
How much less nutritious is our food? How much more toxic is it - to ourselves, to the soil? How much fatter are we? How much more unhealthy?
We have more gadgets, sure. They're all owned by a handful of companies with damn-near monopoly powers, and none of them are changing this trend of a more and more unequal society.
