On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs

By EmmaZahn on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 2:00pm |

In the year 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by century’s end, technology would have advanced sufficiently that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have achieved a 15-hour work week. There’s every reason to believe he was right. In technological terms, we are quite capable of this. And yet it didn’t happen. Instead, technology has been marshaled, if anything, to figure out ways to make us all work more. In order to achieve this, jobs have had to be created that are, effectively, pointless. Huge swathes of people, in Europe and North America in particular, spend their entire working lives performing tasks they secretly believe do not really need to be performed. The moral and spiritual damage that comes from this situation is profound. It is a scar across our collective soul. Yet virtually no one talks about it.

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http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/

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Some push back on the article:

Labour markets: On "bullshit jobs" | The Economist

The Rise of Bullshit Jobs « naked capitalism

by EmmaZahn on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 3:54pm

I'm waiting on Dan Kervick to add his socialist Puritan work ethic spiel on topic. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need! We don't have a ~~pair of hands~~ bureaucratic head to waste! A job, any job = human dignity! Etc....

To which I might counter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMRXWaXkMSI

by artappraiser on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 4:51pm

Great song --- even if it was written by someone who never worked a 9-5 job in her life.

by EmmaZahn on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 5:27pm

I'm convinced. I'm also convinced that employment is more a means of social control than it is a means to meet productive ends. The fact is, people could live as well as they do now on half the work, but the powers that be like to keep most people occupied.

by Michael Maiello on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 5:20pm

Any ideas on how you would divvy up the remaining half of work to assure an adequate income for all to maintain their present standards of living?

by EmmaZahn on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 6:51pm

I think part of the point here is that the work is underpaid, which is why people have to put in pointless hours. Most salaried jobs could just stay at their present levels and be done in 20 hours rather than 40. It's a convention, after all.

by Michael Maiello on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 7:24pm

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