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[โ€“] 15 points 1 month ago (1 child)

if it all worked out (press x for doubt) but ignoring that, if it did, as Bertrand Russell pointed out in 1934 (In Praise of Idleness) , a 50% productivity gain (his example) should result in the workforce working 50% less hours for the same pay.

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  • [โ€“] 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    I'm pressing ๐Ÿ…ง for doubt on you. The social critique is on point but let's go over the numbers:

    1 "+โ€Š50โ€Š%" = 1.5 (productivity multiplier)
    1 "โˆ’โ€Š50โ€Š%" = 0.5 (time multiplier)
    1.5 ร— 0.5 = 0.75 โ‰  1

    A workforce working 50 % fewer hours but doing 50 % more work per hour would only get 75 % of the original work done. The actual amount to cut work time by to compensate for a 50% productivity gain is โ…“ or 33.3ฬ… %.

    Bertrand Russell was a mathematician and logician first and foremost. He wouldn't allow such a slip-up.

    Edit: indeed, see pages 16-17 of the archive.org copy of the essay, his multipliers are 2x and 0.5x, respectively.

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