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Productivity increases (including robotization/automation) mean that the US economy can produce the same goods with less work or more goods with the same work.
by ZachPruckowski 13y ago
Productivity increases (including robotization/automation) mean that the US economy can produce the same goods with less work or more goods with the same work. If we're in a situation where the prospect of being able to produce more goods or work less is "pretty scary", then we're doing something wrong as a society. These sorts of changes should be Pareto-efficient.
- al2o3cr 13y ago"Should be" is a pretty strong phrase in that last sentence. There's also a big difference between being able to work less (when productivity gains translate into wage gains) and having to work less (when productivity gains translate into shrinking labor demand).
- karmajunkie 13y agoNewsflash: we're doing something wrong as a society. Because socially we're not going to accept that people should be working less—not because they need to work more, but because idle hands offend.