In reply to "009. A cottage in the country", Ron Pearson of this list has asked me the following question

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Just after the war, people and the papers were talking about a problem for the future. With all the labour-saving devices and automation, they said, nobody will need to work more than two, or at most three, days a week. What will everybody do with their spare time?

This problem never arose. Is your status goods idea the reason?

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Yes, I think it is. People will always want status because it's deep within our genes -- as it is in all the primate species. So there will always be status goods, even the supply of new ones might begin to dry up for reasons of various time and logistical constraints imposed by our particular way of life in developed countries. In this case, status goods will revert to traditional ones (such as gold) (or see my other posting today regarding Yap currency!).

I am beginning to think that time is going to be one of the most powerful constraints that will ultimately bring significant economic growth to an end. For most working people -- and particularly the already over-worked professional middle-class -- there'll simply be no free time left to use new gewgaws. It is very interesting, for example, that one of the new growth professions that futurologists are talking about is that of the time-consultant! True, these consultants are mainly involved in the more efficient use of time for managers while at work (the modern equivalent of the old-fashioned time and motion study of factory workers), but the same considerations of lack of time are quite apparent in the leisure life of professional people.

Keith Hudson