Compared to three centuries ago humans are vastly more productive today. Extensive division of labor and revolutionary technological developments have allowed society to satisfy humans’ basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) in much less time and for far more people. Interestingly this thousand-fold increase in productivity over the past 300 years has not been fully realized by society if one examines the aggregate increase in leisure time across society rather than the shear quantity of stuff possessed by individuals.
In general there are two interpretations one could make regarding increased productivity. First, increased productivity could mean simply producing more things with the same general amount of inputs. Such an interpretation emphasizes the merits of increased total output and corresponds to a society in which quantity of material possessions is the measuring stick of human satisfaction. Alternatively productivity could mean producing the same number of things with fewer inputs. Such an interpretation emphasizes the merits of efficiency and the potential decrease in labor time and increase in leisure time associated with simply producing a sufficient aggregate of goods. In a capitalist society it is generally the former interpretation, which takes center stage as seen by the continued existence of a 40 hour work weeks with overtime, fetishism of GDP growth, and increasing consumer debt. A society primarily concerned with total output produces cultural norms resting on the ideals of consumerism rather than on the ideals of leisure time.
In a capitalist economy, competition drives firms to increase output and sales. Innovation in the production process that cuts down time and costs is desired, but not the end goal. A firm manager does not increase efficiency by cutting down inputs and then proceed to continue the same level of production if he or she can help it. Ultimately the goal of any capitalist firm is to sell as much product as possible. Put simply “the more a capitalist firm sells, the higher the profits.”[1] For empirical proof of the incessant strive to increase sales note the exorbitant amount of time and money spent advertising, marketing and lobbying the government. Or just take a look at the way in which Apple withholds subtle technological innovations from the market until previous products have sufficiently saturated the market. This implies that, in general, capitalism is biased towards increased production and consumption of said production rather than increased leisure time realizable with current levels of production.
The current economic recession is case in point. Since the economic downslide economists have looked to GDP growth rates as a primary indicator of economic recovery. Drop offs in total output are considered extremely detrimental to any capitalist economy. Moreover, economic stimulus has revolved around sparking individual consumption. In many ways it appears that “reinvigorating mass consumerism is a condition for reinvigorating capitalism.”[2]
[1] Wright, Erik Olin. Envisioning Real Utopias. Verso 2010. Pg. 66
[2] Wright, Erik Olin. Envisioning Real Utopias. Verso 2010. Pg. 68