The Age of the Blackberry

I'm discussing how the world is different from the one imagined by Keynes in the essay Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren

So why do we work so hard still? Here in New York, people work very long hours. Some of that is a matter of choice. Much is not.

One of the main criticisms of Keynes' essay is he focused on the income effect of greater wealth. As people earned more, he thought they would choose to work less because work was an "inferior good" - something you would consume less of as your income grew. In the same way, Canned spam is an inferior good. When people earn more they tend to consume less spam in favor of filet mignon or eating out at Babbo.

But there is also a "substitution effect." The more you earn, the more it also costs you to forego an hour of work. Your time becomes more valuable in money terms. So people may decide the rewards of extra hours at work are still more valuable than time off. It may be worthwhile to sleep with the blackberry by your pillow to earn proportionately more material rewards.

Critics also argue Keynes had too rigid a distinction between work and leisure. Tradtional economics in his day saw work as mostly pain, or disutility. It was the uncomfortable, unpleasant, disagreeable things you did to earn your leisure time.

Now of course work and career are often the main purpose or challenge in life for may. Much more creativity and skill and intellect is required for most jobs now than for a 1930s steelworker or farmer. People enjoy the social aspects of work. They want to go into the office fornthe satisfaction of being part of the team, part of the group.

Of course we get all the bureaucracy and workplace politics as well.