What Does it Mean to Be Productive?

Here in the US, a lawyer recently wrote an opinion piece that questioned whether we should really be tanking our economy in order to save a few unproductive elderly people. After all, he mused, they are a drain on society, and they are no longer productive. Really, they should gladly lay down their lives in order to preserve a strong economy for future generations. This got me thinking, how much is a life actually worth? And what does it mean to be productive?

When we care for others, offer a shoulder or an ear when they need support, when we look after and engage with our children and grandchildren, or when we cook a nice meal, or make someone laugh, are these things not productive? Well, in the eyes of capitalism, they are not. Productive activities are those that generate wealth, that increase a growth skewed GDP, that grow, grow, grow our economy. Caring for others might grow connections, or relationships, or happiness, but it does not grow the economy.

When productivity is inextricably linked to wealth generation and not much else, and we emphasize market growth at all costs, we become a kind of cancer on the world. It’s no surprise that recent shots of the Earth from space show a world momentarily cleared of pollution. The earth is heaving a huge sigh of relief right now, while its human inhabitants panic.

So, it turns out, researchers have tried to figure out how much a human life is worth, the answer is anywhere between two and ten million dollars, depending on the country. So what we are doing now, the lives that we are saving, they are worth it. Every grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, mother, father, friend, sister and brother. If you want to read more about the value of a statistical life, click HERE.