Because society has decided it does not want to. I mean... If you increase work productivity there's basically two things you can do: Increase free time or inc

Because society has decided it does not want to. I mean... If you increase work productivity there's basically two things you can do: Increase free time or increase consumption. Increasing free time is not a popular position. It is widely seen as a given that "increasing consumption" and "economic growth" are good things by itself that don't need any further justification (while of course society could strive for "free time growth" instead). Switzerland had a referendum on reducing work time not so long ago. It failed. I say this noting that I disagree with the popular position here, but I can't avoid seeing that this is what most people seem to want.