Productivity, the paramount question

From Always Keep Your Eye on Production by Bryan Caplan.

Caplan makes a point which I think needs constant reinforcement. In all the discussions of the economy, of inflation, of government policy, of taxation, etc., lots of theory and complexity and abstractions get introduced, but ultimately it all comes down to Productivity (a term I prefer as it encompasses Production over time, i.e future potential production).

The central social and economic question of our time is, I believe, "How do we increase productivity?" It applies equally well to the nation as it does to an individual. All the concerns about inequality and disparate impact etc. pale into insignificance to this paramount question. If there is insufficient productivity then they become moot.

Or, as Caplan puts it:

Laymen often criticize economics for its arcane complexity. When I talk with non-economists, though, so many gravitate toward Rube Goldberg stories. Random example: Yesterday someone suggested to me that failing to fire under-performing government employees is actually economically beneficial, because secure jobs sustain the middle class, the crucial bedrock of our economy.

When I encounter stories like this, I reply with an adage I urge my fellow economists to adopt: "Always keep your eye on production." Whenever analyzing an economic problem, you should, by default, ignore longs chains of social causation and ignore distribution. Instead, remember that mass production is the root cause of mass consumption. Then ask yourself, "How will whatever we're talking about change the total amount of stuff produced?"

Application to yesterday's random example: What happens to production when lots of skilled workers enjoy pay and employment even if they're unproductive? Production falls, impoverishing society. Subtler analyses must strive to keep sight of this basic truth.

Its not just a macro question. For any individual, the question remains the same: How will this course of action improve or degrade my productivity?

Absent some obvious exceptions (such as incapacity), most questions about fairness, inequality, and disparate impact boil down to differences in productivity.