There is a very long but very worthwhile read in the Atlantic, A World Without Work. Although outsourcing is given much of the blame for the decline of manufacturing jobs in the United States it”s probably industrial robots that are more responsible. In some cases the are simply more efficient and in other cases, like the circuit boards in the device you are reading this post on, would be impossible for human workers to assemble. Even in the office and service industries automation is eliminating many jobs. So is a world without work a distopian nightmare or an opportunity. In the early days of the United States there was an artisan middle class. They were silversmiths and makers of hand made furniture. Today those articles are prized as works of art.
In the future will we look at the 20th century as a Calvinistic work oriented aberration? How can we maintain a consumer based economy when many if not most cannot afford to buy things? We have agriculture dependent on fossil fuels and as that fossil fuel becomes less abundant and more expensive more people will have to return to the fields. As for the rest of us there is a little artisan in most of us. We can write. paint, take photographs and yes build handcrafted furniture.
A world without work need not to be a world without satisfying work. I recommend you read the above linked article.. Change is never easy but it’s not always bad.