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If economic productivity is proportional to quality of life, why aren't most people doing everything they possibly can to maximize their productivity. E.g., wor
by bumby 3y ago
If economic productivity is proportional to quality of life, why aren't most people doing everything they possibly can to maximize their productivity. E.g., working 20 hour days, foregoing children in order to produce more, trading vacation days for more work...
I'd argue it's because economic productivity is not the only input into well-being and quality of life.
- ETH_start 3y agoLack of recreation and reproduction harms economic productivity in the long run. Everything valuable or good in life can ultimately be measured as contributing to productivity.
- bumby 3y agoThat assumes is a goal in its own sake. I’m making an argument that productivity is a means to an end, not an end itself. It’s similar to the alignment problem of AI. Put differently, do you think a lower quality of life is a worthwhile tradeoff if it raises productivity? What about the inverse?
- ETH_start 3y agoThe goal should be to raise quality of life. The only way to do that is to raise productivity.