&gt; An alternative theory for explaining Keynes&#x27; mistake is just that people&#x27;s consumption is driven by desire for relative status, a zero-sum game, and therefore people will continue to work to consume more no matter how productive they become.<p>I have a different explanation: that progress is uneven.<p>(1) There has been amazing progress with electronics, where computers have increased our productivity practically unmeasurably, and in manufacturing, where new technologies and materials have made products better and cheaper.<p>(2) On the other hand, in areas like human services (e.g. medicine, law), housing (the price of land isn&#x27;t falling with technological progress), and transport (e.g. bus drivers, garbage collectors, everyone who needs to drive around) there has been very little progress from free markets, rising GDP, or technological advancement.<p>Since people <i>need</i> things in (2), they need to work. And since (1) affects most of us (rising productivity =&gt; falling wages), we need to work more and more to afford (2).