6 ms·

I think it's just a consequence of a free market/capitalism. Everyone is competing w/ everyone, so working as hard as possible, to beat the competition. Remedi

by dilap 7y ago

I think it's just a consequence of a free market/capitalism. Everyone is competing w/ everyone, so working as hard as possible, to beat the competition. Remedies? Either cultural (it just becomes unthinkable to work beyond X, because that's taboo) or legal (limits on how much you're allowed to work).

arvinsim 7y ago
It's also because the productivity gains that we have is captured by businesses rather than the employees. Being productive doesn't give you more free time. It just means that you get more work.
- munificent 7y ago
  > is captured by businesses rather than the employees. "Businesses" don't really do much of anything. What you really mean is the billionaire executives at the top of them.
  - lostcolony 7y ago
    Well, shareholders
  - seem_2211 7y ago
    Well yes, but the majority of it is captured by the middle class, in the form of public pensions, 401k's, the stock market etc.
    - TuringNYC 7y ago
      How much of the market is actually owned by the middle class? I would say not much in the US. See page 44 of the paper below. You can look at Income, Wealth (net worth) or financial resources. Net Worth is probably the best estimate. You'll notice the top 1% has ~40% of the wealth. The next 4% have ~30% of the wealth. So it would be very inaccurate to suggest that the "majority" of wealth and upside is accrued to the middle class, at least in the US. "Household Wealth Trends in the United States, 1962 to 2016: Has Middle Class Wealth Recovered?" Edward N. Wolff NBER Working Paper No. 24085 Issued in November 2017 https://www.nber.org/papers/w24085 https://www.nber.org/papers/w24085
agumonkey 7y ago
One hint was the rise of new management with generic new chiefs with no field experience and few human skills. Highly inhuman large scale management too (playing with people's mind, parking them), profit seeking rather than service and dignity. I'm convinced that a lot of people would be ready to work 'harder' when the work is well organized and done.

by dilap 7y ago

arvinsim 7y ago

It's also because the productivity gains that we have is captured by businesses rather than the employees. Being productive doesn't give you more free time. It just means that you get more work.

munificent 7y ago
> is captured by businesses rather than the employees. "Businesses" don't really do much of anything. What you really mean is the billionaire executives at the top of them.
- lostcolony 7y ago
  Well, shareholders
- seem_2211 7y ago
  Well yes, but the majority of it is captured by the middle class, in the form of public pensions, 401k's, the stock market etc.
  - TuringNYC 7y ago
    How much of the market is actually owned by the middle class? I would say not much in the US. See page 44 of the paper below. You can look at Income, Wealth (net worth) or financial resources. Net Worth is probably the best estimate. You'll notice the top 1% has ~40% of the wealth. The next 4% have ~30% of the wealth. So it would be very inaccurate to suggest that the "majority" of wealth and upside is accrued to the middle class, at least in the US. "Household Wealth Trends in the United States, 1962 to 2016: Has Middle Class Wealth Recovered?" Edward N. Wolff NBER Working Paper No. 24085 Issued in November 2017 https://www.nber.org/papers/w24085 https://www.nber.org/papers/w24085

agumonkey 7y ago

One hint was the rise of new management with generic new chiefs with no field experience and few human skills. Highly inhuman large scale management too (playing with people's mind, parking them), profit seeking rather than service and dignity. I'm convinced that a lot of people would be ready to work 'harder' when the work is well organized and done.