In The Twenty-Second Century

"By the opening of the twenty-second century, the Psychotechnic Institute's power and prestige reached their zenith. The bright future it had planned for humanity seemed inevitable. High technology was triumphant. The blessings of the Second Industrial Revolution were available to all. No one went hungry or homeless anymore. Work had become a privilege instead of an obligation."

-Sandra Miesel, Forward IN Poul Anderson, The Complete Psychotechnic League, Volume 2 (Riverdale, NY, February 2018), pp. 3-5 AT p. 5.

But who works for whom? Is economic activity still based on competition for profit? If it is, then there is still:

a class of owners and employers;

a class of employees (however small that may have become!);

production and sale of commodities;

a declining rate of profit;

a built-in boom-slump cycle.

However, there are several major differences from the economy as we know it. First, as I understand it, the date and severity of the next major economic slump are inherently unpredictable. However, a fictional premise of the series is that the science of psychodynamics makes economic and other social developments predictable.

Secondly, advanced automated technology can continue to produce necessities even during a slump.

Thirdly, workers are not dependent on employment for their comfort or survival and must therefore have a completely different relationship to their employers.

Fourthly, a national employing class is no longer supported by an armed state willing and able to wage war to procure raw materials, trade routes and markets.

That makes everything sound different - as if the competitive, profit-seeking sector of the economy could become increasingly redundant.