> Plus, in many modern-day societies, unemployment can also be downright boring. American towns and cities aren’t really built for lots of free time: Public spaces tend to be small islands in seas of private property, and there aren’t many places without entry fees where adults can meet new people or come up with ways to entertain one another.
Really? I feel the market for entertainment and those interested in niche activities is as rich as it has ever been.
> “Sometimes people retire from their work, and they don’t know what to do,” Gray says. “They’ve lost the ability to create their own activities.” It’s a problem that never seems to plague young children. “There are no three-year-olds that are going to be lazy and depressed because they don’t have a structured activity,” he says.
I've read the opposite from PG, who suggests that children are now unhappy and depressed because they have no purpose. Many parents are just using schools as daycare [0]
> But need it be this way? Work-free societies are more than just a thought experiment—they’ve existed throughout human history. Consider hunter-gatherers, who have no bosses, paychecks, or eight-hour workdays. Ten thousand years ago, all humans were hunter-gatherers, and some still are.
The authors romanticizing such lifestyles are free to build a cabin in the woods. But one should understand the accompanying poverty that would accompany such a decision.
I could go on...