The idea that producing and consuming “stuff” is the end-all-be-all (more important than whether people have any money, for example) has already received too mu

The idea that producing and consuming “stuff” is the end-all-be-all (more important than whether people have any money, for example) has already received too much emphasis in the last fifty years. It’s like, as long as people are buying TVs, everything must be good. They must have money, then. Or credit cards. And the companies that make TVs make money, which makes the stock market go up, which helps people’s retirement accounts. Anyway, go buy more stuff, it’s good for the economy. That’s just capitalism and consumerism. Stuff being bought and sold benefits big corporations, and not people that much, increasingly so. The current way we distribute money (and healthcare!) to most people is “jobs.” A human-centric view of prosperity would focus on whether people have what they need, and how to get money to people (which people do need, or else they need food, shelter, etc). If you assume arbitrary progressive changes in taxation and government, problem solved, I guess. Absent that, we need innovation in employing people, not innovation in making stuff. I’m not saying automation is bad or “stop automating.” But as other commenters point out, the question is not just total wealth, but how that wealth is distributed. I hope everyone realizes that in 2023!