The Liberation of Work

Work is the cornerstone of our current living model, as it provides income, social security, and cultural status. Conventional wisdom has it that under normal economic conditions, men between 20 and 50 should almost all be working.

Yet, this cornerstone of society is changing faster and more profoundly now than in the last 70 years. We have no idea what the labor market will look like in 2050, but we can already foresee major changes like the boom of the gig economy and the possibility of mass automation brought on by AI and robotics. This will undoubtedly change access to revenues and bring systemic change to our lives and will have ripple effects on every business we interact with: banking, housing, leisure, education, etc.

The disappearance of permanent work would lead to a social transformation like nothing we’ve ever seen before. If we were to flip the work paradigm, we would need to rethink everything else as well. What happens to the consumer economy when you take away the consumers? What happens to social security when you take away social rights?

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