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The Golden Age
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The Golden Age

The 15-hour working week predicted by Keynes may soon be within our grasp – but are we ready for freedom from toil?

John Quiggin
Aeon, 2016
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Humankind lives in a time of immense prosperity, such that “no one need be poor.” Decades of free market liberalism, however, have ensured the continuance of a society ruled by the accumulation of capital and the continuance of inequality – both in income and leisure time. Economics professor John Quiggin argues in favor of a return to Keynesian economic theory, specifically, the pursuit of a society – facilitated by technological innovations – that prioritizes “social need” above “market signals of price and profit.” getAbstract recommends this article to economists and anyone interested in the changing workforce of the 21st century.

Take-Aways

  • In 1930, English economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) wrote an essay arguing that technological innovations could “do away with the need to work in order to live.”
  • Keynes’s ideas were in keeping with changing social views about progress, and the possibility which emerged during the 19th century of a possible social “utopia.”
  • Keynes’s vision seemed like a real possibility during the 1950s and ’60s as the creation of the welfare state paired with innovation to improve workers’ lives and reduce working hours.

About the Author

John Quiggin is an economist, a professor and an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow at the University of Queensland and is a member of the Board of the Climate Change Authority of the Australian government.

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