Systems fragility may be decreasing in spite of stagnant productivity.

Following up and expanding on the previous post.

I'm willing to agree for the sake of discussion that productivity is going to stagnate. I make gears for a living, and I see no way that technology is going to fundamentally make it cheaper to produce a 32 tooth 12 pitch 14.5 degree pressure angle involute spur gear any time soon. You still have to make a blank then hob it. The energy and materials inputs to 3d print in metal for the same part are unlikely to be cheaper except at the lower quantity limit of 1 piece, where setup and transport dominate costs.

The variety of parts that can be made by the home shop, without regard to cost, have never been higher, on the other hand. While mass manufacture won't get cheaper, it is now possible for a better networked set of outsiders to help lower the fragility of the overall system by making it possible to reroute around damage and/or collapse. As long as cheap NC control systems are available, amazing things can be made in ones garage, basement, or kitchen, but at lower "productivity".