Restraining Insatiability

Abstract

My interest in insatiability was triggered off by Keynes’s prediction in 1930 that 100 years hence people in rich countries would have enough, and therefore work less. This was based on an assumption about productivity growth. That prediction turned out to be partly wrong. Although average incomes have risen, much in line with Keynes’s prediction, average hours of work have fallen much less. This suggested that he underestimated human insatiability. My son Edward and I wrote a book called How Much Is Enough?, which was an inquiry into the meaning and causes of insatiability. This is a further exploration of that topic, which suggests one or two modifications of the view we took in the book.