So many servants and not even one maid or one butler!
Sir, Martin Wolf in his “Why the energy revolution will continue to power ahead”, June 28, makes a little side tour quoting the Danish scholar Bjorn Lomborg from the Copenhagen Consensus on “if we think for a moment of the energy we use in terms of ‛servants’, each with the same work power as a human being, each person in western Europe has access to 150 servants (and) in the US about 300”. On that Wolf comments, sort of smugly, that the energy revolution has brought about the (almost complete) disappearance of both slavery and serfdom . . . ended servitude and liberated woman from daily household drudgery.”
Well, Mr. Wolf’s home might be very well staffed, but to state that man or woman has been liberated from daily household drudgery is that sort of daring statement when most of us given a choice would gladly exchange at least 10 of those cold energetic Lomborg servants for a warm human body to help us out.
We agree fully with Mr. Wolf that slavery and serfdom is horrible, but let us not forget that serving other people is something very honorable and, if we forget that, we will soon risk be all out of jobs and twiddling our thumbs, when the machines with their Lomborg servants will be doing all the manufacture and the agriculture for us. So many countries with income per capita income over 40.000 US$ per year, and most of the households cannot afford a maid or a butler! Comes to show how this energy revolution Wolf talks about could instead be running out of steam.
Well, Mr. Wolf’s home might be very well staffed, but to state that man or woman has been liberated from daily household drudgery is that sort of daring statement when most of us given a choice would gladly exchange at least 10 of those cold energetic Lomborg servants for a warm human body to help us out.
We agree fully with Mr. Wolf that slavery and serfdom is horrible, but let us not forget that serving other people is something very honorable and, if we forget that, we will soon risk be all out of jobs and twiddling our thumbs, when the machines with their Lomborg servants will be doing all the manufacture and the agriculture for us. So many countries with income per capita income over 40.000 US$ per year, and most of the households cannot afford a maid or a butler! Comes to show how this energy revolution Wolf talks about could instead be running out of steam.
Lomborg
Copenhagen Consensus
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