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If Mozart had to spend more, or most, of his time gathering food and tending to his basic needs would he have had time to make music? What about the musicians

If Mozart had to spend more, or most, of his time gathering food and tending to his basic needs would he have had time to make music? What about the musicians who played it? Wealth is the ability to do more with less effort. Some of that free labor goes to arts, science, or philosophy and advances humanity. Maybe too much goes toward building even more wealth or a fancier house/things but you would not have the former without the ability to get later.

wildmanx 5y ago
I'm not saying we should all be artists and drop any work on improving science or technology. To the contrary, some people really thrive doing that, and who am I to outlaw it. But this is about working 80+ hours a week to achieve that. Changing the world is possible in 40 hours a week. Or 30, or 20. It may happen more slowly, but it won't leave so many train wrecks of burnout in its path. (Apart from overall total productivity not necessarily being lower with a 30 hour week than a 50 hour week as the increased energy and motivation can often times easily offset the fewer hours.)