I remember when anti-work meant anti-work. As in, fewer jobs, more free time, against the notion of labor as an entire thing. Our entire species retiring.
Honestly, I’m glad work reform is a separate thing now, because I don’t want to reform work. I want to eliminate it.
Unfortunately much of the world feels entitled to the labor of others and refuses to acknowledge the mental gymnastics we accept as a society.
One has to look no further than the way we treat food service employees. People demand to be served. They feel they are entitled to their basic human needs being serviced while blaming those servicing them for being under valued.
It’s sick and twisted; our society is mentally ill.
So how do you propose that would (pun coincidental) work? Who’d build and maintain roads and railways, who’d build houses and install plumbing, who’d build cars, robots and other goods, who’d grow produce and who’d transport it to the cities where people live? Who would do all the work?
I don’t have an entire solution for it, and for a while some work would obviously be necessary. But it’s important to have a goal so we work toward it instead of just working forever.
I share David Graeber of the opinion that we could eliminate a third of jobs - the Bullshit Jobs - immediately, and with a small increase in our standard of living. And I think that if someone can automate their job they should be given their salary in perpetuity, because now people don’t have to do this one thing.
For me, antiwork is less a clear political goal than it is an ethos. Find ways to eliminate drudgery so all of us everywhere can retire and live comfortably.
I’ve had this argument too many times with newcomers to antiwork that I’m not going to do it again with you. But ask yourself this: If people so desperately want to work, why do they dream about winning the lottery so they don’t have to? Why do they save up their entire lives to enjoy their golden years not working?
Stop looking at this from the bottom of a 6,000 year old hole that tells you that you need to justify your existence to your superiors.
I said people want to work. I explicitly said that the problem is employment, which is not the same thing as work, so I don’t know what “my superiors” has to do with this.
Work can look like a lot of different things. Cooking, gardening, producing art, building things, leading people, building or supporting communities. Even training in and playing sports is “work”. (There’s ridiculous amounts of money there in the world of sports, and athletes are compensated for their time, including that spent training, so it’s really not that strange when you think about it)
Humans are built to enjoy feeling productive.
How would you spend your retirement? Many people re-enter the workforce. Many people volunteer their time to various organizations.
Even if your idea of a perfect retirement involves endless consumption of entertainment, I’d argue that a lot of entertainment effectively simulates various kinds of work. Video games are a prime example.
I remember when anti-work meant anti-work. As in, fewer jobs, more free time, against the notion of labor as an entire thing. Our entire species retiring.
Honestly, I’m glad work reform is a separate thing now, because I don’t want to reform work. I want to eliminate it.
Unfortunately much of the world feels entitled to the labor of others and refuses to acknowledge the mental gymnastics we accept as a society.
One has to look no further than the way we treat food service employees. People demand to be served. They feel they are entitled to their basic human needs being serviced while blaming those servicing them for being under valued.
It’s sick and twisted; our society is mentally ill.
So how do you propose that would (pun coincidental) work? Who’d build and maintain roads and railways, who’d build houses and install plumbing, who’d build cars, robots and other goods, who’d grow produce and who’d transport it to the cities where people live? Who would do all the work?
I don’t have an entire solution for it, and for a while some work would obviously be necessary. But it’s important to have a goal so we work toward it instead of just working forever.
I share David Graeber of the opinion that we could eliminate a third of jobs - the Bullshit Jobs - immediately, and with a small increase in our standard of living. And I think that if someone can automate their job they should be given their salary in perpetuity, because now people don’t have to do this one thing.
For me, antiwork is less a clear political goal than it is an ethos. Find ways to eliminate drudgery so all of us everywhere can retire and live comfortably.
Eliminating work wouldn’t actually be enjoyable.
We just need to reform society so that people aren’t required to be employed to survive.
Humans inherently like to work and be productive. The problem isn’t working, it’s employment under shitty companies.
I’ve had this argument too many times with newcomers to antiwork that I’m not going to do it again with you. But ask yourself this: If people so desperately want to work, why do they dream about winning the lottery so they don’t have to? Why do they save up their entire lives to enjoy their golden years not working?
Stop looking at this from the bottom of a 6,000 year old hole that tells you that you need to justify your existence to your superiors.
I said people want to work. I explicitly said that the problem is employment, which is not the same thing as work, so I don’t know what “my superiors” has to do with this.
Work can look like a lot of different things. Cooking, gardening, producing art, building things, leading people, building or supporting communities. Even training in and playing sports is “work”. (There’s ridiculous amounts of money there in the world of sports, and athletes are compensated for their time, including that spent training, so it’s really not that strange when you think about it)
Humans are built to enjoy feeling productive.
How would you spend your retirement? Many people re-enter the workforce. Many people volunteer their time to various organizations.
Even if your idea of a perfect retirement involves endless consumption of entertainment, I’d argue that a lot of entertainment effectively simulates various kinds of work. Video games are a prime example.
You totally didn’t read the first sentence
Yeah, because you didn’t understand what I said.