Work, Leisure, and the Paradox of Progress

The economy says “more.” More of which?

We’re told the economy is healthy when three things are all rising:

• More jobs

• More leisure

• More spending

These are the signs of progress.
They’re also completely incompatible.

We want a world where everyone is employed.
And a world where no one has to work.
We want to relax.
But we admire those who grind.

We say we hate being overworked.
But we trust an economy more when everyone is working harder.

And we’re supposed to spend — always spend — for the greater good.
Even in the digital world, where production has no limits and consumption never ends.

GDP, jobs, and the treadmill

GDP is simple: the total value of everything we buy and sell.
It doesn’t care if those things are good for us.
It just tracks motion.

It goes up when:

• People work 80-hour weeks

• People go into debt

• People get sick and pay hospital bills

• People fight wars and rebuild cities

• Someone builds a school

• Someone sells painkillers

• Someone gets a raise

And we celebrate that growth — whether it came from joy or crisis.

At the same time, we celebrate jobs.
Jobs give people purpose, income, and structure.
But we also talk about a future where we won’t need jobs at all.
Where automation will free us to create, to reflect, to rest.

We’re cheering for two different futures.
And pretending they’re the same.

Then there’s the digital economy

Digital goods don’t run out.
One person watching a video doesn’t prevent a million others from watching the same one.
Supply is endless.
Marginal cost is near zero.

So now, more spending doesn’t just mean more production.
It means more throughput. More streaming. More data. More clicks.

It’s possible to grow the economy —
without anyone making more.
Without anyone doing more.
Just by doing it faster.

And so we’re told:
Consume more. Spend faster. Keep it moving.

Not because you need to.
Because it helps the economy.

Which brings us back to you

Do you believe:

• That leisure is good?

• That work is good?

• That rest is noble?

• That productivity is noble?

• That we should slow down?

• That we should spend more?

Do you believe that all of that — at the same time — makes sense?

Because if it doesn’t, you’re not broken.
The story might be.

You might hear someone say, “It’s all a matter of balance. Everything’s a shade of gray. There are no absolutes.”

And yes, sometimes that’s true.

But sometimes that kind of thinking shows up too early — not as wisdom, but as a shortcut through discomfort.

Sometimes we call something balanced when really, it’s just confused.

Balance might still be where we end up.
But not before we face the fracture.
Not before we see the break.