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We Need to Work Less

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Juliet Schor, a professor of sociology at Boston College, came in yesterday to talk about the new business as usual. What’s going to bring us out of the current recession? Not job creation, Schor argues. We need to rethink the way we work, she says, meaning we should spending less time focusing on the markets. In the future, people should become more diversified in their skills—so if they have a part-time job, the rest of the time might be spent building a house, repairing a car, launching a business, building community and social connections. A “Do It Yourself” economy, some might say.

The talk with Schor echoed some of the sentiments that urban theorist Richard Florida put forth in his recent talk with Big Think. For instance, will we soon see an end to homeownership? Schor disagrees with Florida; she thinks there will be much more creative ways to move forward besides becoming a nation of renters.

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