@tante The crucial question is how you define "needs". If we arbitrarily draw a line at, say, the living standard of an average European circa 1920, it's pretty obvious we could meet that standard globally with a fraction of our current labor input. Capitalism couldn't exist under those kinds of conditions. This is precisely why consumerism (advertising, marketing, etc.) was invented because only by continually inflating "needs" can capitalism justify everyone working all the time.