In a world where money can work harder than humans, will our collective productivity ever increase again?

Since the 1970s, human productivity has been declining overall. Ray Dalio eloquently summarizes this shift in his writings.

Today’s stock market returns from top companies make a strong case for using money, rather than labor, to create more money. This trend, I believe, widens the gap between the rich and the poor, as the poor only have disposable human labor but no disposable money.

While this may create billionaires and trillionaires in the short term, it ultimately undermines the notion of capitalism as envisioned by Adam Smith.

Money doesn’t endure pain or miss family time, so can it truly work harder than humans? If we consider money as an intermediary and a store of value for the investor’s hard work, are investors working harder than the common folk toiling in obscurity?

With the stark differences between employee and executive pay, will we even be able to maintain current productivity levels?

Some argue that productivity hasn’t fallen, but I see more and more children earning less than their parents. If that’s not a loss of productivity, what is?

Remarkably, during the pandemic year of 2020, the world’s billionaires saw their wealth surge by $3.9 trillion while secluded in their mansions, while millions of essential workers faced economic hardship despite laboring on the frontlines.

So, how can money work harder than the man?