In the view of most voters, Sisyphus was lucky. Sure, his task of pushing a boulder up a hill every day wasn’t particularly productive, and it must have been frustrating to watch it roll down again after manhandling it to the summit. But at least he had work. This is the make-work bias – the idea that having a job
is more important than creating value effi ciently. When asked about higher productivity
in the abstract, voters are generally supportive. When asked about policies that “create
jobs,” however, voter concerns about productivity go out the window. Economists, on
the other hand, have known for a long time that productivity is good, even if it leads
to (temporary) unemployment. Technology, which is the main engine of productivity,
also creates jobs – different ones. In 1800, nearly 95 of every 100 Americans worked to
provide food for the country. Today, only three out of every 100 labor to produce food.
What are those other 97 Americans doing? Other jobs.