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Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren: 90 Years Later

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  • Joerg Bibow

Abstract

This paper revisits Keynes's (1930) essay titled "The economic possibilities for our grandchildren." We discuss the three broader trends identified by Keynes that he expected would come to characterize the socio-economic evolution of advanced countries under individualistic capitalism: first, continued technological progress and capital accumulation as the main drivers of exponential growth in economic possibilities; second, a gradual general rebalancing of life choices away from work; and third, a change in the code of morals in societies approaching an envisioned stationary state of zero net capital accumulation in which mankind has solved its economic problem and enjoys a lifestyle predominantly framed by leisure rather than disutility-yielding work. We assess actual outcomes by 2023 and attempt to peek into the future economic possibilities for this generation's grandchildren.

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  • Joerg Bibow, 2024. "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren: 90 Years Later," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_1038, Levy Economics Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_1038
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Morris Altman, 1999. "NEW ESTIMATES OF HOURS OF WORK AND REAL INCOME IN CANADA FROM THE 1880s TO 1930: LONG‐RUN TRENDS AND WORKERS' PREFERENCES," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 45(3), pages 353-372, September.
    2. Benjamin M. Friedman, 2017. "Work and consumption in an era of unbalanced technological advance," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 221-237, April.
    3. Toye, John, 2000. "Keynes on Population," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198293620.
    4. David H. Autor, 2015. "Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 3-30, Summer.
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    JEL classification:

    • B22 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Macroeconomics
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General

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