"You actually could have a life of comparative leisure relative to the past, but humanity spends huge amounts of time competing with status displays which have become vastly more important to personal happiness in the more "relaxed" world. If you're willing to live a 1950s lifestyle you should be able to have far more leisure time than the 1950s person. Remember though that you'll never leave your home country for travel, live in ~300 sq/person house, share a household immediately after college, and you would probably only own 3-4 suits of clothes."