I think it might be mismeasured along two dimensions. First, so much more in the last 20 years and arguably starting from the 1970s the world is filled with valuable intangibles that are hardly assessed but a much larger part of wealth today. Second, certain intangibles eg. The fact you can die pain free in the last few weeks of your life have incredible value to humans but don’t translate into TFP or GDP very well at all. It’s talked about a little in this Anton Howes podcast. https://www.thendobetter.com/arts/2021/5/21/anton-howes-on-innovation-histroy-the-improving-mindset-and-progress-studies-podcast
How much is never getting lost--ever--worth? How much is knowing the answer to any simple question worth? How much is a tricorder that fits in your pocket worth? How much is the ability to broadcast your opinions to millions across the globe--for free--worth?
Flying cars are just a faster horse. That is, they're the product of a fundamentally impoverished imagination extrapolating from what it sees around it. (Actual flying cars in any numbers would be a terrifying nightmare, as an airline pilot explained to me once.) The future is tied to the past--as our current national state is linked to the effects of our culture of the car and of freeways--but the Fifties sure didn't predict now.
I think it might be mismeasured along two dimensions. First, so much more in the last 20 years and arguably starting from the 1970s the world is filled with valuable intangibles that are hardly assessed but a much larger part of wealth today. Second, certain intangibles eg. The fact you can die pain free in the last few weeks of your life have incredible value to humans but don’t translate into TFP or GDP very well at all. It’s talked about a little in this Anton Howes podcast. https://www.thendobetter.com/arts/2021/5/21/anton-howes-on-innovation-histroy-the-improving-mindset-and-progress-studies-podcast
How much is never getting lost--ever--worth? How much is knowing the answer to any simple question worth? How much is a tricorder that fits in your pocket worth? How much is the ability to broadcast your opinions to millions across the globe--for free--worth?
Flying cars are just a faster horse. That is, they're the product of a fundamentally impoverished imagination extrapolating from what it sees around it. (Actual flying cars in any numbers would be a terrifying nightmare, as an airline pilot explained to me once.) The future is tied to the past--as our current national state is linked to the effects of our culture of the car and of freeways--but the Fifties sure didn't predict now.