For all the Keynes-vs-Marx talk, one thing the author fails to point out is the simple fact of lifestyle inflation. The inflation-adjusted per-square-foot cost of housing has steadily decreased, but our appetite for more room has increased to match it. Houses are
60% larger than they were 40 years ago, while
household sizes have dropped by 15-20%. We own more vehicles, more TVs, have more gadgets, and eat out more than we did a few decades ago. Cable TV was just starting, etc.
If you revert to the eating, housing, TV, and car habits of 40 or 50 years ago, the need to work crazy hours dramatically drops.
