@bigblen
> they must consume to do so, thus reducing something elsewhere

Ae. The podcast I linked is about the 'more is better' approach to productivity. Eg in the anglophone world the rise & grind, 'sleep is for the weak', attitude of Steve Jobs, Melon Husk et al. In China the 996 culture.

What is reduces is quality of life for workers who buy into it, or are forced into it (scAmazon employees). Strip mining our time, our energy, our mental capacity, and our creative capacity.