What would happen if no one worked and everyone just lived off passive income? Is this even possible? Do people want to not work?
There’s such a huge lack of integrity in today’s society in the difference between what people say and what their actions are. When you ask the average person if they like working a job, everyone says some form of NPC based “Yes”. Answers range from my job gives me fulfillment, purpose meaning, it’s my dream job, I can’t imagine doing anything else, blah blah blah. And yet, various studies conducted show that the majority of people do not like the work they do, some ranging up to 7 out of every 8 people. If that weren’t enough, the $300 billion spent towards lottery tickets and gambling each year in the US also shows otherwise. That’s proof that people don’t want to work. The better question isn’t if you like your job, but instead:
-Would go to your job if you won the lottery?
-Would you go work if you didn’t get paid? I.e. the salary for the job is $0 per year, with no chance of the position ever converting to a paid position
-If you had the free time to do whatever you wanted to do with no financial or time based constraints, what would you be doing?
Interestingly, the answer to those questions, in addition to people’s actions, are likely not the same as do you like your job. So, it shows the interest through actions, not words, the eagerness to retire early, preferably now. It would seem that if everyone didn’t work, then life would be so much better, given the 7 out of 8 people who do not like the jobs they work. And yet, there is some other disturbing statistics that indicate that this may not be the case. For instance, the average full-time employee retires around the age of 63 in the US, and then dies 6 years after retiring, particularly if they did not have any other forms of meaningful paid work to do after retiring. I had an acquaintance whose father retired at age 65, then after a year of retirement, became bored and wanted to work full time again. Then going back to work, his first year he died of a heart attack. Yikes, not a good outcome.
It would seem difficult to create this so-called utopia where no one worked due to passive income. Difficult to achieve, and may only be feasible within developed countries. Even then, only 6% of Americans are millionaires, and the average age of said millionaires is late 50s in age. Maybe with robots coming to do all the work and a form of UBI, Universal Basic Income could this scenario be a reality. Humans doing nothing for long periods of time goes against our biological framework. Research has been conducted indicating that men who do more in a home in terms of childcare and household chores end up healthier and living longer than men who do not. Whether that is publications created by women to induce more shared responsibility, taking on responsibility tends to extend a person’s lifespan by giving purpose. Someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to. Without work, what’s going to happen? One could only take so many vacations. Me personally, a month straight is more than enough. Stories of CEOs occur where they are bored on vacation after just one week. I’m not sure more vacations on top in the long-term would work. Time spent would then just move towards activities that are already done after work hours, with the tops being meaningless hedonism. Video gaming, growing at an estimated 15% per year, social media, television, sports, politics, drinking, going to the bar and coffee shops to complain, with some occasional exercise. And the majority of those activities just contribute to the increased anxiety, stress and depression this generation is experiencing, rather than decreasing them. This is a strange spot to be in then. To be both wanting to be retired early, but then also being bored of retirement and wanting to not be retired. A direct contradiction, leading to constant dissatisfaction. As Oscar Wilde put it, there are only two tragedies in life; one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.
Even if it were possible to become a passive investor and retire early via living off the gains, doing nothing in life seems to mess with a person’s ability to have satisfaction and fulfillment. It seems a new purpose of some form of productivity would be needed, if only to maintain or to reach a different level of self-actualization. This does not necessarily need to be paid work or having a high social standing or getting the false approval of others, but a dream, a vision that would drive people towards something greater than themselves. As Proverbs 29:18 would say, when there is no vision, the people will perish. At least I know what I’ll be doing should I be retiring early; taking care of myself, and telling strangers on the internet via blogs what a mentally stable genius I am with unsolicited advice and criticism.
Disclaimer
This is not Financial Advice. This article is meant only for educational and perhaps entertainment purposes.