Charles Handy article on the possibilities for meaningful economic growth and work that the new information age can bring, including an extended Third Age of work. Handy begins the article discussing Adam Smith’s thought as a moral philosopher and economist, and how he would, today, see far too many useless things on sale and too few signs of cultivation. He goes on to comment on how materialism and progress lessens appreciation for what one acquires once it has been obtained, but how technology and the information age has enabled more people to enjoy the good things in life without risking spoiling the world for everyone else, as many of the consumer goods in the information age are environmentally harmless. Handy proceeds to identify the growth of new-age fashions as areas that include the health business and education, adding that, as people grow older and enter the Third Age, they will spend more of their money on time, rather than things. However, he argues that there will never be enough money in the Third Age, because enough money was not made in the previous years of one’s working life. Therefore, people will need and want to do some work in the Third Age. Third Age work, which would involve caring and advising occupations, would, according to Handy, aid in achieving both growth and cultivation, which Adam Smith considered impossible.
Handy, Charles B Smith, Adam, 1723-1790 CD-ROM Information age economy Shopping malls Work Institute of Directors
Source
Charles Handy article on the possibilities for meaningful economic growth and work that the new information age can bring, including an extended third age of work, 1994; Charles Handy Papers; Box 20, Folder 8; 1 page
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