---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As we get better at things, we need less…"
description: "\"As we get better at things, we need less people to produce the things we really need, but what do we do with the rest of the people? They have to be do..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/tino-sehgal-23847_basic_as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less_3180174.jpg"
---

#  As we get better at things, we need less people to produce…

![“As we get better at things, we need less people to produce the things we really need, but what do we do with the rest of the people? They have to be doing something, too, to buy from those few which are doing the really basic stuff, and so that's why we need to be continually producing new stuff.” quote by Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/tino-sehgal-23847_basic_as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less_3180174.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/tino-sehgal-23847_basic_as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less_3180174.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/tino-sehgal-23847_basic_as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less_3180174.jpg)

> “As we get better at things, we need less people to produce the things we really need, but what do we do with the rest of the people? They have to be doing something, too, to buy from those few which are doing the really basic stuff, and so that's why we need to be continually producing new stuff.”

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Advancement reduces labor demand for essential goods, creating a surplus workforce that must be engaged in new production or consumption cycles.

**In simple terms:** Technology lowers need for workers, requiring new roles.

Key Takeaway

Create new value and purpose for displaced workers.

Themes

economy technology labor innovation society

Mood

concerned optimistic

Type

sociological economic forward‑looking

When to use this quote

- industrial restructuring
- education reform
- entrepreneurship
- social entrepreneurship
- policy design

Key Concepts

automation creative economy skill transition consumer demand

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies redesign work to be inclusive?
- What responsibilities do innovators have to displaced workers?

A Different Perspective

Assumes new jobs will be created quickly enough to prevent unemployment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [Thousands of people were producing new Web sites every day. We were just trying to take all that stuff and organize it to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-filo/thousands-of-people-were-producing-new-web-sites-every-day-we-were/)

[David Filo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-filo/)

> [“Originality has nothing to do with producing something ’ new’ - it is about seeking the source, the primordial ground from which you draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-marshall-stoneking/originality-has-nothing-to-do-with-producing-something-new-it-is/)

[Billy Marshall Stoneking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-marshall-stoneking/)

> [I like working together with different producers. Of course the process is different, producing a new track is like creating something all new, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-garrix/i-like-working-together-with-different-producers-of-course-the/)

[Martin Garrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-garrix/)

> [The Beatles are now history, and it would be unhealthy to try to make my way as a former member. I must admit I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/the-beatles-are-now-history-and-it-would-be-unhealthy-to-try-to-make/)

[George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/)

> [There are many places that people can produce really good food. I wouldn't limit it to an area of the country, it's what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-burrell/there-are-many-places-that-people-can-produce-really-good-food-i/)

[Anne Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-burrell/)

> [We all know that the nation can't divide more than the people produce, but as individuals we try to get more than our share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/we-all-know-that-the-nation-can-t-divide-more-than-the-people-produce/)

[William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/)

> [People 'over-produce' pollution because they are not paying for the costs of dealing with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ha-joon-chang/people-over-produce-pollution-because-they-are-not-paying-for-the/)

[Ha-Joon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ha-joon-chang/)

> [in the comparatively short time between my childhood and my daughter's, the business society has ceased urging people to produce and is now exerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/in-the-comparatively-short-time-between-my-childhood-and-my-daughter/)

[Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/)

> [“Happy people produce. Bored people consume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/happy-people-produce-bored-people-consume/)

[Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/)

> [The City of London and Wall Street are not going to be great places to be in the next two or three decades. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rogers/the-city-of-london-and-wall-street-are-not-going-to-be-great-places/)

[Jim Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rogers/)

> [People who produce good results feel good about themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/people-who-produce-good-results-feel-good-about-themselves/)

[Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/)

> [“Continually adding features to software turns out to be equally unsustainable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/continually-adding-features-to-software-turns-out-to-be-equally/)

[Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/)

> [I don't know why, but I'm continually amazed to think that two and a half billion of us around the world are connected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kovacs/i-don-t-know-why-but-i-m-continually-amazed-to-think-that-two-and-a/)

[Gary Kovacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kovacs/)

> [If I have not the power to put myself in the place of other people, but must be continually burrowing inward, I shall never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-i-have-not-the-power-to-put-myself-in-the-place-of-other-people/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/)

[Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/)

## More by Tino Sehgal

> [I have this belief that if you have an idea, and you have to write it down to remember it, then it can't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/i-have-this-belief-that-if-you-have-an-idea-and-you-have-to-write-it/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [As a culture or a civilisation, we are a bit juvenile; it's like 'Oh, I have all this power, whoa, this is so cool,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/as-a-culture-or-a-civilisation-we-are-a-bit-juvenile-it-s-like-oh-i/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [For the general public, my work is sometimes easier than a painting because there is someone addressing you; it can actually be a relief.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/for-the-general-public-my-work-is-sometimes-easier-than-a-painting/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [What my work is about is, 'Can something that is not an inanimate object be considered valuable?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/what-my-work-is-about-is-can-something-that-is-not-an-inanimate/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [Our culture is hung up on and overemphasises what can be derived from material objects. I think this is something quite new, over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/our-culture-is-hung-up-on-and-overemphasises-what-can-be-derived-from/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [I'm not against the intergenerational function of the museum, I am not against its address or celebration of the individual, but I am against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/i-m-not-against-the-intergenerational-function-of-the-museum-i-am-not/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [Material things are not helpful after a certain degree of saturation. So you turn to other products. I think that therapy is a product…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/material-things-are-not-helpful-after-a-certain-degree-of-saturation/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [In preindustrial times, the idea of creating something was more related to your personality. Personality was something that you constructed; it's something you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/in-preindustrial-times-the-idea-of-creating-something-was-more/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [The nature of my work is my subjectivity meshed with other people's subjectivity. So there's a correspondence with that... Even if you write about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/the-nature-of-my-work-is-my-subjectivity-meshed-with-other-people-s/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [Because of this high status of the object in our culture, something has to be a thing. Live efforts are almost marginal. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/because-of-this-high-status-of-the-object-in-our-culture-something/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [I don't see myself as somebody who looks particularly good in photos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/i-don-t-see-myself-as-somebody-who-looks-particularly-good-in-photos/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [My father had to flee from what is today Pakistan when he was a child, and he became a manager at IBM, and any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/my-father-had-to-flee-from-what-is-today-pakistan-when-he-was-a-child/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [Attention is the material I work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/attention-is-the-material-i-work-with/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [Photographs are two-dimensional. I work in four dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/photographs-are-two-dimensional-i-work-in-four-dimensions/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

> [Kids are very sensitive to the value system of their parents, and I just felt my parents were attaching too much importance, too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/kids-are-very-sensitive-to-the-value-system-of-their-parents-and-i/)

[Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

[Explore all 25 Tino Sehgal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/)

## More Basic quotes

> [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. So we can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/it-turns-out-that-this-part-of-the-brain-is-one-of-the-first-areas/)

[John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/)

> [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/)

[Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/)

> [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [Once I get out onstage, it's the same sort of basic production that it is anywhere else. But I might be a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-snow/once-i-get-out-onstage-it-s-the-same-sort-of-basic-production-that-it/)

[Phoebe Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-snow/)

> [I firmly believe that if members of Congress fail to perform their most basic duty in passing a budget, then they do not deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-schrader/i-firmly-believe-that-if-members-of-congress-fail-to-perform-their/)

[Kurt Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-schrader/)

> [Conservatism is about the basic rights of individuals. God created us. As far as the government goes, the Founding Fathers based the Constitution off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wurzelbacher/conservatism-is-about-the-basic-rights-of-individuals-god-created-us/)

[Joe Wurzelbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wurzelbacher/)

> [During three decades from 1947 to 1977, the nation implemented what might be called a basic bargain with American workers. Employers paid them enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/during-three-decades-from-1947-to-1977-the-nation-implemented-what/)

[Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/)

> [With post offices and postal workers already on the ground, USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/with-post-offices-and-postal-workers-already-on-the-ground-usps-could/)

[Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/)

> [We hope that the elected officials will respond positively to a ground swell of letters, phone calls, e-mails and visits from parents. The law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-hope-that-the-elected-officials-will-respond-positively-to-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Had Elizabeth Bennet known how wildly Darcy's heart beat for her, 'Pride and Prejudice' would barely have made it into a short story. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/)

[Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/)

> [I think it's impossible to maintain a good, strong, muscular physique without taking some supplements. Between the protein shakes and the multivitamins that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gatt/i-think-it-s-impossible-to-maintain-a-good-strong-muscular-physique/)

[Joseph Gatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gatt/)

> [The Icesave matter is complex and it is understandable that the issue has been oversimplified by many. Unfortunately some of the basic facts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-siguroardottir/the-icesave-matter-is-complex-and-it-is-understandable-that-the-issue/)

[Johanna Siguroardottir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-siguroardottir/)

> [“The late-afternoon light was thick and orange and she passed four different couples taking photos of themselves on the same cobblestoned block, all their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/the-late-afternoon-light-was-thick-and-orange-and-she-passed-four/)

[Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/)

> [Why do we do basic research? To learn about ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gilbert/why-do-we-do-basic-research-to-learn-about-ourselves/)

[Walter Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gilbert/)

> [Most of all, I am struck by an irony central to the lot of a purebred dog: As it attains the hallmarks of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/most-of-all-i-am-struck-by-an-irony-central-to-the-lot-of-a-purebred/)

[Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/)

Browse all 478 Basic quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "As we get better at things, we need less people to produce the things we really need, but what do we do with the rest of the people? They have to be doing something, too, to buy from those few which are doing the really basic stuff, and so that's why we need to be continually producing new stuff.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tino Sehgal"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less-people-to-produce-the-things/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Basic"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less-people-to-produce-the-things/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/tino-sehgal-23847_basic_as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less_3180174.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/tino-sehgal-23847_basic_as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less_3180174.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/tino-sehgal-23847_basic_as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less_3180174.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As we get better at things, we need less people to produce the things we really need, but what do we do with…” — Tino Sehgal",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Tino Sehgal",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "As we get better at things,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less-people-to-produce-the-things/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/as-we-get-better-at-things-we-need-less-people-to-produce-the-things/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
