Markets aren't purely efficient, but the author's claim that 40% of jobs don't need to exist is so wild and absurd I reject it out of hand. I suspect that the i

Markets aren't purely efficient, but the author's claim that 40% of jobs don't need to exist is so wild and absurd I reject it out of hand. I suspect that the items you listed, while they or may not exist, would only cumulatively amount to a fraction of a fraction of the total jobs out there. If his argument was "many of us could probably work fewer hours without significant deleterious consequences in terms of productivity" I would be far more open than to the claim that 40% of all jobs don't perform any valuable function.