In the post-capitalism, knowledge worker economy, Wage Economy Knowledge Economy this would mean that a company could post the Paid by the hour Paid by the value of their contribution exact same profits on that 1 person while firing some or all of the other 9,999 people. Work regular hours Work whenever they want to Once those 9,999 people* Work in one location Work wherever they want were left without a way of supporting themselves, their lack of to/need to economic relevance would mark the decimating Hierarchical (Bosses/ Networked (It’s more subordinates/peers) complicated than that) blow to capitalism’s status as society’s main organizing principle. After all, capitalism can’t “organize society” if it leaves 90%+ of society out. * For those of you arguing that there are other potential outcomes for those 9,999 workers, look up Paul Krugman’s seminal 1997 “hot dog” theory; it’s extremely Googleable. Krugman’s answer, in short, is Well, yes, there are sort of other outcomes for those other workers, but ultimately no, not at sustainable scale. 41
Future of Work, Think Series Page 36 Page 38