We have to live and work pretty much the way the system forces us to. People are working long hours just to hold onto their homes, keep their c ars running and send their kids to college. Most workers desperately want more leisure time, but giving up the income means giving up the means with which to enjoy the extra time. In addition, being willing to do without things doesn't necessarily mean ending up with more time. For example, because the economic system favors private transportation over efficient mass transit, not having a car means spending a lot more time gett ing around to do everyday chores.
People feel trapped on a treadmill from which there is no escape.
Yet, at the same time, workers are working longer and harder for less, the amount they are able to produce in an hour's labor is greater than ever before, and this productivity of labor continues to climb. What these facts indicate is that it is possible to have a secure and comfortable standard of living while working far fewer hours than we do now. But under the profit system, the workers do not get the benefit of their effort. The owners of business do. Corporations introduce technology to reduce the labor needed to their product or service.