“Mankind is solving its economic problem. I would predict that the standard of life in progressive countries one hundred years hence will be between four and eight times as high as it is to-day,” wrote John Maynard Keynes, one of the most influential economists ever, in a 1930 essay entitled “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren”. Indeed, after the Second World War, the West entered a golden age of economic growth. But this was not Keynes’ boldest claim. Writing at the beginning of the Great Depression, the economist continued to predict that technological advancement and the accumulation of capital would lead to people working less and having more time for leisure. “We shall endeavour to spread the bread thin on the butter-to make what work there is still to be done to be as widely shared as possible. Three-hour shifts or a fifteen-hour week may put off the problem [of feeling the urge to work] for a great while,” Keynes wrote. Though the vast majority of the labor force would prefer devoting most of their time to endeavors other than work and sleep, such as art, sports, games, or family time,…
