Another concern is that even though there’s a strong historical trend towards increases in material quality of life, the same is not necessarily true for social quality of life. Indeed, in many ways the former impedes the latter. In particular, the less time people need to spend obtaining necessities, the more individualistic they’re able to be, and the more time they can spend on negative-sum status games.
It’s been years and years since I’ve read it, but I remember liking this paper on this topic:
It’s been years and years since I’ve read it, but I remember liking this paper on this topic:
Beyond Accumulation and Technical Progress: Negative Externalities as an Engine of Economic Growth.