The question should be about how we can all live better together in community, not for how long people should be expected to work

There has been much debate recently about living longer and working till you drop. The whole context of extending the retirement age is ridiculous, given that 50% of jobs are going to disappear in the next couple of decades, why should anyone contemplate people working into their 70s and beyond?
The ongoing automation revolution is bringing about dramatic developments across the world, like the introduction of a universal basic income – this is in order to sustain capitalism.
How does making people work longer fit into this scenario – in reality the opposite should be the case, people having more leisure time and retiring early.
The ageing conversation is also always conducted within the comfy confines of white collar work. What construction worker wants to be working at 70?
The idea that everyone is living longer and this is in some way an irreversible trend is questionable. Since the austerity agenda was adopted by the Tories in 2010, the extension of life expectancy has halted and in many areas of the country is in reverse.
There is also the increasingly sedentary nature of so much work added to the obesity epidemic across society  – how when these things are taken into account can the assertion that everyone will live longer moving forward be sustained?
The baby boomers (born between 1945 and the late 1960s) are a long living generation but there is every chance that those falling outside that period may not be so fortunate. Much will depend on whether our society is run for the common good of all or for the benefit of a privileged few. Certainly, the conversation going forward should be about how everyone can live together better in community, not for how long they can work.

Published - Independent - 21/2/2018
Morning Star - 26/2/2018