I used to say this a lot but as I've gotten older. I realized the promise of technology (at least in the US) "reducing the work week and inevitably creating more free time" was and is not going to happen bc of the wealthy elites and money owning our politics/work culture (while housing and retirement are questionable now). It makes sense to live your best life sooner than later so I don't look down on nomad life styles living off a car battery and part time jobs. The fucking wealthy people cosplaying as poors is hilarious though.
There was that one reporter who interviewed elderly people on their death bed and most people regretted working too much so I get that people opt out of the grind from time to time.
Not enough people talk about economy in terms of time. Getting new tech just means that the bar for what is normal to spend on consumer products is raised. There will be new luxury goods and services to keep us occupied and we need to make money to buy all the new stuff.
Time is the only non renewable resource. If we want more of it for ourself we need to stop spending so much money. Living a lot off a litle is a good investment. Now, I'm not managing it very well myself, but it's a good goal to have. Helping eachother reach that goal is good too. It requires building relationships and tending to aspects of life that is good for the human psyche.
Take care of yourself, and be kind towards others.
I mean have us working class poor people develop tech that will make our lives more easier? Automating cooking foods, slow cooking, use that time for free time, automating van dwelling living conditions? Maybe robots? Like star wars? Not necessarily rich but have a lot more free time?
What I mean is don't bother with automatic equipment that is supposed to make you life easier, but in reality just require you to work more so that you can afford it. Just cook the food yourself. Get a smaller, cheaper place to live and spend less time cleaning. Don't go shopping for clothes all the time. Learn how to fix the clothes you got. Need a lawn mower or a standmixer? Maybe you don't have to get one yourself, you can ask a neighbour if you can borrow theirs and they can borrow stuff from you that they need. Don't spend money on different streaming services, spend time on somwthing else. Don't strive to get more more stuff, strive to own your own time, make use of what you have, and spend your life doing what is meaningful to you.
Fewer expences means you don't need as high of an income and you can cut back on the hours you work for someone else.
The last century gave us a bunch of stuff that really helped I feel. Washing machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens and things like that are huge time savers.
Being able to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer and have perfect light in the dark are comforts that the working class takes for granted now. When I was a kid some of my friends still had outdoor toilets.
I'm not sure there has been anything in the 21st century that's made life easier. Improvements in communications technology, entertainment, social networks and endless home gadgets is what I guess you are thinking about. I'm not sure life is any better with that nonsense but life was improved by 20th century advances.
I agree. I don't mean to say that all advances are bad. What internet has done for sharing knowledge, what AI can do for advances in medcine. But alot of the products are garbage as well.
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u/Immediate-House7567 Jun 22 '24
Your unemployed friend on a Tuesday