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In the name of economy a thousand wasteful devices would be invented; and in the name of efficiency new forms of mechanical time-wasting would be devised: both processes gained speed through the nineteenth century and have come close to the limit of extravagant futility in our own time. but labor-saving devices could only achieve their end-that of freeing mankind for higher functions-if the standard of living remained stable. the dogma of increasing wants nullified every real economy and set the community in a collective squirrel-cage.
-Lewis Mumford
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In The Name Of Economy A Thousand

Lewis Mumford
In the name of economy a thousand wasteful devices would be invented; and in the name of efficiency new forms of mechanical time-wasting would be devised: both processes gained speed through the nineteenth century and have come close to the limit of extravagant futility in our own time. but labor-saving devices could only achieve their end-that of freeing mankind for higher functions-if the standard of living remained stable. the dogma of increasing wants nullified every real economy and set the community in a collective squirrel-cage.
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Real Names Squirrels

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