Britain needs to shift towards smarter work
21 August 2023
SUGGESTED
Economics
Economics
Julian Jessop quoted by the Business Telegraph
21 August 2023
Economic Theory
Mark Littlewood writes for The Times
IEA Director General Mark Littlewood has written for The Times on why Britain needs to escape the hard work, low productivity trap.
Mark wrote:
“The bald economic truth is that if we continue to keep asking ourselves about how hard we are working, we are almost certainly asking the wrong question. If an enhanced quality of life, wider prosperity and enjoyment of more leisure time is what we want, then hard work actually is a rather grim way of getting there.
“Of course, the real trick is to find ways to yield greater output from the same effort. Our contemporary failure to do so is the main underlying reason behind our present economic malaise. Over the very long run, we have enriched ourselves by this process of discovery. Agriculture is a standout example, where a much smaller amount of labour now is able to produce higher-quality food in much greater abundance.
“The better way to get richer isn’t more hard work. It is smarter work. This means adopting a positive and optimistic approach to how new technologies can complement and enhance human labour. I yearn for the day in which leading politicians come up policies that they proclaim will allow us to be both lazier and richer, without merely promising us rewards from transferring money from others.”
You can read the full article here.
Mark wrote:
“The bald economic truth is that if we continue to keep asking ourselves about how hard we are working, we are almost certainly asking the wrong question. If an enhanced quality of life, wider prosperity and enjoyment of more leisure time is what we want, then hard work actually is a rather grim way of getting there.
“Of course, the real trick is to find ways to yield greater output from the same effort. Our contemporary failure to do so is the main underlying reason behind our present economic malaise. Over the very long run, we have enriched ourselves by this process of discovery. Agriculture is a standout example, where a much smaller amount of labour now is able to produce higher-quality food in much greater abundance.
“The better way to get richer isn’t more hard work. It is smarter work. This means adopting a positive and optimistic approach to how new technologies can complement and enhance human labour. I yearn for the day in which leading politicians come up policies that they proclaim will allow us to be both lazier and richer, without merely promising us rewards from transferring money from others.”
You can read the full article here.
SHARE
