Why so many people work “bullshit jobs”| James Suzman | Big Think
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Why so many people work “bullshit jobs,” with James Suzman
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Our society is fixated on working. Some of us work 80 hours per week at jobs that don’t fulfill us simply for work's sake. Expert anthropologists, such as James Suzman, even go as far as to say that many of the jobs we work could be considered "bullshit jobs" - a complex job that is not entirely needed in the workforce. These jobs are created and executed because our culture, and lifestyle, are organized around the 8-hour workday.
So why do we work "bullshit jobs?" Many economists would say it is to fix the problem of scarcity. But what many do not know is that in our society, we passed the scarcity threshold in 1980, and most everyone has their basic needs met. So much so that more food goes into our landfills than goes into our stomachs. If scarcity is no longer an issue, why are we still working over 40 hours per week? It's because people have a humane instinct to work and be productive.
If the 40-hour workweek is no longer serving our society, could we be approaching a new economic utopia? Suzman thinks so. In the present day, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers are turning away from unfulfilling jobs and diving headfirst into their hobbies - cooking, writing, painting, and creating. If we keep on this path, our entire economic system is bound to change, making for a richer world where everyone does the work they want to be doing.
Read the video transcript: bigthink.com/videos/bullshit-jobs/
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About James Suzman:
James Suzman, Phd is an anthropologist specializing in the Khoisan peoples of southern Africa. A former Smuts Fellow in African Studies at the University of Cambridge, he is now the director of Anthropos Ltd., a think tank that applies anthropological methods to solving contemporary social and economic problems.
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Read more of our stories on employment and bullshit jobs:
3 ways to find a meaningful job, or find purpose in the job you already have
►►bigthink.com/neuropsych/3-ways-to-find-a-meaningful-job-or-find-purpose-in-the-job-you-already-have/
Here are the top 10 jobs of the future
►► bigthink.com/the-future/jobs-of-the-future/
America needs faster and cheaper pathways to good jobs
►► bigthink.com/the-present/education-pathways/
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@bigthink 2 жыл бұрын
Is your job bullshit?
@BrianWilliamsBJW 2 жыл бұрын
I don’t have one
@rockets4kids 2 жыл бұрын
I think most people only work 15 hours in a week, they are just forced to be somewhere for 40 hours. Or at least they were before Covid. This is why nobody wants to go back to the office.
@hviettan 2 жыл бұрын
My job is not bullshit. Its purpose is to execute my boss's decisions. Only that most of them are bullshit.
@RT230 2 жыл бұрын
No, yours is.
@M8d9R 2 жыл бұрын
50% or more of middle management these days is BS, and worse they receive disproportionately high pay compared to people who actually do useful work
@MissNausicaa87 Жыл бұрын
We should also de-stigmatise certain jobs in our society that are actually extremely useful and important: cleaning, trash picking, caring for the elderly, etc.
@alrqmcr 7 ай бұрын
These jobs (cleaning, garbage sorting, etc.) deserve more respect and pay than any of these overpaid bullcrap jobs mentioned in the video.
@sloppyjonuts9162 7 ай бұрын
Janitor river here
@lenayashina6777 7 ай бұрын
And these jobs would've been much less exhausting if it was 15 hours per week instead of 40 or more.
@destructionman1 6 ай бұрын
Who says those are stigmatized?
@boraxmacconachie7082 5 ай бұрын
Also art. Art and music are very stigmatised jobs because they don't pay well (unless you're some kind of mega pop star), but most people love art and music and they make our lives better and richer
@CBGBBB 2 жыл бұрын
My job isn’t total bullshit, however I can do all my work in under 4 hrs though you must stay in the office for 8hrs. So most people just pretend to be busy so it looks like it takes 8hrs to complete a days work.
@Tammy8823 2 жыл бұрын
I need that job.
@GenerationX1984 2 жыл бұрын
But never let your supervisors know because they just pile more onto your workload.
@baatar 2 жыл бұрын
@@GenerationX1984 free production? F that
@justanothernick3984 2 жыл бұрын
From what I've read, people are productive 25-35% of their day. The rest is social interaction, dreaming away, googling travels or whatever funny cat vids, and other "look-busy"-tasks. 4hrs work in 4hrs would require an enormous amount of stamina and you would perhaps burnout and I am not sure you would have a higher quality life. Maybe I'm way off base here.
@fdm2155 2 жыл бұрын
Yes, we still have a piece work mindset though few of us are producing physical goods. Also too many managers are focused on time spent rather than tasks completed. It also explains the long standing resistance to work from home we see among so many managers and owners.
@grahamdeitner5507 2 жыл бұрын
Bart Simpson: "Work is for chumps." Homer Simpson: "Good for you Boy. I was twice your age before I figured that out."
@robsmith1a 2 жыл бұрын
If someone asks you what you do they always mean whet job do you do (that is how they define us). I left the rat race 14 years ago because I felt my job was largely a waste of time and I had had quite a few health issues. I felt many people disapproved of me (or were jealous). I don't get bored but I have also had to adjust my expenditure to meet lower income. For me the time is more important than the money and I feel happier.
@TFHC_cc 2 жыл бұрын
We need a purpose in life, not a function.
@pwkmania 2 жыл бұрын
School gives you no purpose
@TFHC_cc 2 жыл бұрын
@@pwkmania as teacher, I firmly believe that knowledge and education is the only, real and peaceful way, to give people the necessary tools to make an educated decision. Specifically is times like these were 'fact' are forged. But, I do understand and agree with you, that the model 'one size fits all'' to educate our children is the equivalent to 'intellectual poison', as there is a big difference between develop critical minds to learn how to solve problems, and 'teach' to read and memorize a text book.
@_nebulousthoughts 2 жыл бұрын
@@pwkmania you have to find it. Nothing is going to give it to you.
@AnonYmous-tr4cu 2 жыл бұрын
Jordan Peterson would agree, we need purpose. A weight to pull. People would off themselves otherwise
@TFHC_cc 2 жыл бұрын
@Fabricio Costa A purpose implies a function, but with a human perspective ;)
@gregorywalker1333 2 жыл бұрын
I think most everyone who's been a part of the workforce has thought this, but it's great to hear a very complicated topic summarized so eloquently
@masterofrockets 2 жыл бұрын
It was not summarized at all
@thefool1086 2 жыл бұрын
is bs, as every utopian idea.
@keldsleepnot7961 2 жыл бұрын
It isn't a bullshit idea though. If you can't see what he is saying then you're most likely working a pointless job
@danthomas6587 2 жыл бұрын
I felt kind of wanting at the end. Sort of like I do after cheap hooker.
@clintonfernandes5945 2 жыл бұрын
You should read Bullshit Jobs by the late David Graeber. It is more indepth with real examples from real people doing meaningless jobs.
@kleckerklotz9620 2 жыл бұрын
David Graeber does not only show how this technology may spare us from future labor as mentioned in the list at 1:33. He was the one who showed us that many of our jobs are bullshit, that we are not alone feeling the lack of meaning, he analysed why we are still trapped in this work obsessed society and he really goes in deep. His book "Bullshit Jobs" is a must read for everybody who thinks about work on a greater scale. It is a shame that he is not even mentioned and only appears as a side note.
@Graeberwave 2 жыл бұрын
Really disappointing to read this, as soon as I try to watch this video. I imagine there's a lot of Jacobin-adjacent types running BT. Sad. Graeber pointed out they made personal attacks at him years ago, and then when he passes Jacobin wants to try to eulogize his death for some clicks. Pathetic.
@lupin7559 2 жыл бұрын
At least they credited Graeber in the slides. The presenter, Suzman, is an anthropologist as well and has a new book out on the history of work - no doubt inspired by Graeber. They don’t seem to promoting the book here like they usually do, interestingly enough. It would have been nice to hear some mention of David Graeber’s work from the presenter, though. Maybe they brought him up in the interview but it didn’t make the final cut.
@Gizziiusa 2 жыл бұрын
global impoverishment is rampant. global hunger is still a very present and alarming topic too. 1% of the global population owns 80% of its wealth. wrap your head around that. yeah, the remaining 99%, approx 7.7 billion people own the meager remaining 20%. its obvious there is a massive global disparity going on, and im certain it is still on its continued march to squeeze that remaining 20% away from the 99%. (Black Rock buying so many homes up in the USA comes to mind for starters). this 1%, the global elite. own and control so much. they have very advanced think tanks, complex AI with quantum computing ability at their disposal. Of course they will want us all to believe that this "BS work" is a humanity problem... gotta deflect any/all blame from the real perps. actually, its a problem they have created and sustained. and like in the past, they will again fool the masses with the simple problem-reaction-solution process.
@bigthink 2 жыл бұрын
Graeber is a wonderful writer too, and did indeed coin the term in his original essay: www.atlasofplaces.com/essays/on-the-phenomenon-of-bullshit-jobs/ You can read an interview around his latest book here: www.vox.com/2018/5/8/17308744/bullshit-jobs-book-david-graeber-occupy-wall-street-karl-marx We'd love to have him on sometime as well!
@ritornelloandrefrain 2 жыл бұрын
@@bigthink he passed last year...
@MsGenXodus 2 жыл бұрын
"Overcoming Our Desire For Work"... I've never had a "desire" for work. I've got a desire to stay housed and fed and clothed, hence the necessary evil of "going to work."
@Catlily5 2 жыл бұрын
If you were on disability you might see it differently.
@allesdurchprobiert 2 жыл бұрын
@@Catlily5 What's stopping anyone to do "work" without being forced, and without an employer? You can't have a job because you're disabled. Ok, I get that. But who says you need a JOB to spend some of your time in a meaningful, enjoyable way? In fact, for most people it's their job that keeps them from doing that.
@Catlily5 2 жыл бұрын
@@allesdurchprobiert Of course you don't need a job to spend time in meaningful and/or enjoyable ways.
@allanorr2595 2 жыл бұрын
I work because if I don't I'm going to be living on the streets, at which point I'll be glad that people throw away so much food while I'm dumpster diving for dinner. I'm glad so many other people experienced a period of "enlightenment" during lockdown, all I did was burn through what little savings I had just to keep the lights on and food on the table. I appreciate the sentiment of this video, but he's way off the mark with "desire" to work. Maybe if someone builds a self-sustaining robot that builds houses and grows crops his idea might be realistic.
@A-Wa 2 жыл бұрын
@@allesdurchprobiert it depends. Some disabled people need their job to have a structured day, to have contact with other humans else they dont have it. Its very very hard for specific type of disabled people to have a social life outside of work. Humans can be cruel. Its not white or black and life for disabled people is also very different
@AGirlofYesterday 2 жыл бұрын
I never minded working hard 24/7 until I suffered a chronic injury and discovered how hard the US makes it on those who can't work fulltime. When you ask for necessary time off or apply for disability benefits, you are criminalized for having health problems, treated like a scam artist trying to abuse the system. As if one ailing worker not pulling their full weight will topple the whole economy or something! It's been hell on earth just attempting to rest and heal. It's a sick society that expects us to work 40 hr weeks when we are physically debilitated.
@ldbarthel 2 жыл бұрын
It's only worse since corporations started trimming their workforces over the past 45 years. Now if someone is sick or is taking their PTO benefit, the entire team has to work harder to try not to fall behind the contractually mandated standards. There's no flexibility or depth in their labor pool. (If they were managing baseball teams, they'd be fired for not having a deep enough bullpen or a farm system in the minors for training and rehabilitation.)
@cherylcarlson3315 2 жыл бұрын
I demanded life work balance but worked hard in nursing 39yr til weakness dizziness and fatigue hit at 58 sending me into poverty and searching for diagnosis. Myasthenia gravis is a rare neuromuscular disease. You can't will it away, effects are documented and yet SSDI has refused 3 yrs over riding specialized neurologist with bean counter who never met me
@AGirlofYesterday 2 жыл бұрын
@@cherylcarlson3315 That's terrible. Our system needs a major overhaul.
@cherylcarlson3315 2 жыл бұрын
@@AGirlofYesterday indeed. Why must you have an attorney to get it? Nondisabled people need to press for answers/changes because when you suddenly are disabled just surviving some days is herculean.
@cherylcarlson3315 2 жыл бұрын
@@AGirlofYesterday indeed. Why must you have an attorney to get it? Nondisabled people need to press for answers/changes because when you suddenly are disabled just surviving some days is herculean.
@GrimJerr 2 жыл бұрын
Keynes underestimated Capitalisms capacity to encourage GREED !
@1bbbbbaaaaa 2 жыл бұрын
greed is when you take from producers as if it was your own. self-reliance and profiting by meeting the needs of consumers isn't greed.
@chikitronrx0 2 жыл бұрын
@@1bbbbbaaaaa Panama papers bring their kid Pandora papers to say Hi.
@Drarack 2 жыл бұрын
@@1bbbbbaaaaa You mean like the way they'll happily take all the profit you generate for them and leave you with just enough to not starve to death till your next shift?
@Grilled_cheezus 2 жыл бұрын
@Birwin82 i think you meant profiteering
@DDCrp 2 жыл бұрын
How did you make that leap from this video?
@jsnel9185 2 жыл бұрын
During lockdown I became my moms full time caregiver, an amature gardener, Baker and cook, and I have had time to grow both emotionally and spiritually. I was fortunate to be given more time since I am now at home doing caregiving. So many people are unable to have their full potential reached because they are not free to get out of a useless grind. What is the point of tech if not to free us from the drudgery of mediocre work and allow us to explore the deeper aspects of what it means to be human? Spoiler alert: so far tech has mostly been used to find creative ways to kill each other. Until we get over that archaic tribalism it's difficult to imagine a world where we allow everyone to have enough.
@DJCrimeSkeleton 2 жыл бұрын
People who have an extreme amount of material excess and therefore power are very interested in making sure that they keep it, and if you aren’t in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety over your own survival then you’ll have time to come up with reasons why they shouldn’t. All conservative political thought across every culture essentially underwrites this one imperative. For this reason you won’t get the chance to see technology liberate anyone from their mindless toil.
@rosscobosco 2 жыл бұрын
Love your comment, agree having time to explore the deeper aspects of what it means to be human is what we should value more
@pennycaldwell8141 2 жыл бұрын
J Snel, ...and it'll be Technology, social media that'll speed up the extinction of the human species. Ironic isn't it that our creation is proving to be the unravelling...
@addysaw 2 жыл бұрын
I automated my work thanks to tech and consequently work maximum 10 hours a week. Not fun. Work, even bullshit work, is nicer
@cyc7lops 2 жыл бұрын
We humans (if we're emotionally healthy) have an active and productive orientation toward life, with goals and interests that we're eager to work on and explore, and will do so passionately and with discipline. Healthy people don't want to just do nothing, and they don't want to "keep busy" either. They want to build, create, work -- on something meaningful to them, and it often benefits their families and communities as well. But one must have the time and energy to do so, which means not being utterly exsanguinated by our jobs. Fifteen-hour workweeks would make this possible. There would be adequate time to work at a job, sleep, exercise, work in the home and care for family, and then study and work on one's passions. The media, however, has portrayed those affected by the lockdown as "lying around all day in their pajamas, binge-watching TV shows, eating pizza, drinking beer, and getting high." So out of touch with reality.
@mnm8818 2 жыл бұрын
But that's me. Chilling everyday watching tv haha Though I research endlessly on KZfaq and the net about anything... Learnt more about 'life' in lockdown then I did the rest of my life. Can learn something everyday eg. Lizards have 3 eyes
@nope5791 2 жыл бұрын
@@mnm8818 Most of us are still brainwashed with the old notion that we are to exemplify highly productive achievers like some whacked out zombeavers. Forget the "we." If you sit at home and "research endlessly on KZfaq and the net about anything" then that sounds fine as wine you see. Comparing yourself to the "we" or "them" will only make your bulb burn dim.
@davidpeppers551 2 жыл бұрын
The media generally supports the elites. What they say about lay abouts shores up the elites' positions.
@isaacannanjr2371 2 жыл бұрын
@@davidpeppers551 exactly the elitists own the media and project their ideals through the media to make ordinary regular working people look inept. I mean look at the wealth inequality divide there's no such thing as the middle class anymore.
@davecom3 2 жыл бұрын
I work a 50 hour work week and that work week mentally exhausts me unless I spend at least an hour every day exploring new concepts, new languages, reading outside of work etc. The extra effort outside of work on my own time makes the difficult and stressful effort of work easier, despite me thinking it is of no relevance to my profession at all.
@MrMalorian 2 жыл бұрын
Every time I hear about all the food that is wasted it makes me so angry that our society would rather see people starve than risk not making a profit
@veg9097 2 жыл бұрын
They rather feed farm animals, and destroy them along with the environment.
@andrewradford3953 2 жыл бұрын
I divert about 1000kg of bread destined for landfill a week. Plastic goes into large bags for a specialised recycler in Australia called Redcycle. Tags to a person that makes artistic bowls. The bread goes to local cattle farmers as feed supplement. This is just from a couple of towns in a very small corner of the world. I recently found out that the supermarkets in our area we don't collect for, that their bread is ending up in dog food. Still better than landfill. I'd prefer not to have to do this.
@vladimirseven777 2 жыл бұрын
The food that able to spoil is healthy good food comparing to plastic that will be "good" for thousands of years. And people tend to multiply when they have enough resources.
@Rnankn 2 жыл бұрын
Kind of kills the market is efficient argument
@simonasgudavicius 2 жыл бұрын
Yes that's super sad and stupid.
@tedsterrett7204 2 жыл бұрын
You're correct sir, I worked a job as a computer print operator for major insurance companies for 35 years and essentially we printed information that could have been accessed online! Yes some people may not have had internet access but they could have just made a phone call to get the information. We wasted so much paper and resources... it was unimaginable! Not to mention the time wasted when we could have been doing more productive things like caring better for our families! Thank you sir. all the best to you and yours!
@agamersinsanity Жыл бұрын
Companies still waste tons of paper even though the digital age of information is here.
@stevezelaznik5872 7 ай бұрын
Reminds me of my days at the insurance company. I was using my math degree to manually sign checklists of 270 items, signing my name for each item, something that would have been more accurate and efficient if it had been automated.
@petelee2477 2 жыл бұрын
I think most jobs have legit purpose. The time wasting aspects are because employers are obsessed with the magical number of 40 hours per week and have this idea that you must be busy for all hours of the day. This forces employers to find tasks to keep you busy. If they didn't force you to stay for that arbitrary number 40 and didn't intentionally invent tasks just to keep you busy then you'd see how critical your job is since you'd only do the tasks critical for the job.
@gormenfreeman499 2 жыл бұрын
Human being are funny creatures. We reward people throwing footballs with tons of stuff, but a person who does real work like making sure your toilet works gets paid bullshit.
@lilfoward1832 2 жыл бұрын
Very much agreed. Or a ceo working an hour a week bc they have someone to do everything for them, and they are in that position because of the spawn point they were born into that no one else had.
@vulcwen 2 жыл бұрын
That's because money really is just a way to resolve conflict. If there is no conflict, there is no reward, and things that really need to get done are things people tend to agree on, so it gets paid like shit.
@icupnibba3533 2 жыл бұрын
Because any shmuck can clean a toilet but only .1% of the population is physically gifted enough to “throw footballs around”
@11Andruxa 2 жыл бұрын
And if you're trying to say that "throwing a ball around" is useless, ask how many kids dream about fixing toilets in their future
@Dan-ud8hz 2 жыл бұрын
"We should do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living. It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian Darwinian theory he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living." Buckminster Fuller
@raghavgarg9511 2 жыл бұрын
if not all have to work. then how do we choose who will work. I will certainly be not happy if I have to work and someone else don't. So I will not work.
@hamza3065 2 жыл бұрын
@@raghavgarg9511 The point is what you term as "work" is naturally a passion for someone else and he will do it regardless of others do it or not.
@zehkiel8018 2 жыл бұрын
@@raghavgarg9511 Why would you be unhappy if you have chosen a task and do it? Also, why should others have to suffer equally just because you're unhappy they aren't just as miserable as you are? Especially if people cook for fast food simply because they like cooking, and have the time and energy to discover this.
@b-pos6022 2 жыл бұрын
@@raghavgarg9511 i think not working is too utopian for exactly that purpose. It would lead to a division between upper and lower class even bigger than we already have. But, here’s a way to circumnavigate this. Say there’s 100 workers, 50 essential and 50 have “pointless” jobs and everyone works 40 hours a week. Once the pointless jobs get discarded, those workers can take a load off the essential workers so they all do 20 hour a week.
@sunburstrose7860 2 жыл бұрын
@@raghavgarg9511 I am going to copy and paste Andrew Yang's idea for a "Freedom Dividend", that is UBI for every American, regardless of income below. I am with you, why should I be working my butt off while others get benefits and don't want to work. Unfortunately, I am already doing this--as are many Americans because income-based government benefits. Andrew Yang suggests a UBI of $1,000/month for EVERY AMERICAN, understanding that some people will choose to live on this income and utilize their time doing whatever, while others, more ambitious in their nature, will want to increase their standard of living and will take a job or start a business to increase their income. He also understands that some others who already make a lot of money may choose to donate their UBI to some cause they believe in and want to support. THIS is freedom. The idea is to give EVERYONE that basic foundation for living--shelter, food--thus allowing for human beings to explore what they really want to do, how they might want to contribute or express themselves, etc. (This, by the way, is the Star Trek vision of the future wherein human beings and humanity as a whole are freed up to live up to their potential and not spend their lives toiling away as workhorses in BS jobs making money for their "masters".) One of Yang's really great ideas, I think--because it does away with a lot of resentment among people/citizens (like what you expressed in your comment)--is to do with income-based basic income structures, e.g. government welfare payments to poor people and providing it across the board to everyone. Doing so will also enable the dismantling of still more BS jobs involved in making determinations about who is eligible, then distributing to only these people, then having to police for potential fraud, make changes as someone's situation changes, etc. etc., etc. The idea is to just give EVERYONE the $1/K a month and then let those that want to better themselves and their lives better themselves (in whatever way) and those who don't, well it's their lives to do with how they will. Here's info from Andrew Yang's 2020 Presidential election platform for the Freedom Dividend Proposal: Andrew would implement the Freedom Dividend, a universal basic income of $1,000/month, $12,000 a year, for every American adult over the age of 18. This is independent of one’s work status or any other factor. This would enable all Americans to pay their bills, educate themselves, start businesses, be more creative, stay healthy, relocate for work, spend time with their children, take care of loved ones, and have a real stake in the future. Other than regular increases to keep up the cost of living, any change to the Freedom Dividend would require a constitutional amendment. It will be illegal to lend or borrow against one’s Dividend. A Universal Basic Income at this level would permanently grow the economy by 12.56 to 13.10 percent-or about $2.5 trillion by 2025-and it would increase the labor force by 4.5 to 4.7 million people. Putting money into people’s hands and keeping it there would be a perpetual boost and support to job growth and the economy.
@buttercxpdraws8101 2 жыл бұрын
Yes. Yes. Yes. I’ve been saying this since the 1990’s. So good to know I’m not the only one who realises this. Universal basic income would give people the ability to follow their passions. This would not only eliminate a lot of mental health problems which leads to crime snd misery, but also enable us to thrive and develop as a species!!
@WwJd2tmthy1 2 жыл бұрын
You forgot physical health problems
@Petra999 2 жыл бұрын
We basically have that already with social security and welfare so..
@badass6300 2 жыл бұрын
We don't know what UBI would do for people, so we should test it.
@lukedegraaf9011 2 жыл бұрын
UBI was tested in America, preliminary results indicate the only people who do not participate in the workforce are either raising children or getting an education. Unfortunately the full analysis of the study was not completed due to the following governments interests.
@lukedegraaf9011 2 жыл бұрын
Petra; social 'security' and UBI are fundamentally different. UBI is not means tested and therefore eliminates the cost, stress, and time, associated with wellfare. I am yet to meet one person who has fared well on 'wellfare'
@Joey-B 2 жыл бұрын
Work is a social construct, that I’m unbelievably happy to not be apart of anymore. I worked right out of high school for 6 years until I realized it was nonsense. You need INCOME, not a JOB. I think a lot of people need work to feel structure or some kind of self-worth. And that’s totally fine, people should be able to do what they want. It just isn’t for me, I could never get behind the idea of spending half my waking hours doing something I couldn’t be prideful or care about at all. The standard 40 hour work week, is so archaic. The US truly needs to prioritize the 20-25 hour work week. With mandatory paid time off.
@debbiehenri345 2 жыл бұрын
This is so true. I wonder how many people thought 'Stuff my old job, not going back,' after lockdown ended. 'I'm going to do what I like from now on.' Sadly, I expect it's a very low number considering the cost of living these days - but good on you if you can afford it and have decided that's the way you're moving forward.
@manasmahanand732 2 жыл бұрын
Based on survey, in USA this did happen on a large scale. Therefore the term "The Great Resignation". In wealthy countries like the US, a large majority of people did re-evaluate what they were doing, and started to look for jobs that they loved. Unfortunately, this only happened in wealthy countries, not poorer countries.
@Gra1i1ude 2 жыл бұрын
I see a lot more camper homes on the road in the UK.
@emilebester9226 2 жыл бұрын
I did it!
@whateverwhatever4663 2 жыл бұрын
I wish I could stop working -- but I don't want to wind up living under a bridge and getting shanked for my morning muffin and comfy bedroll. Still.....the product of my labor seems largely useless to me. Ah, the sad life of a wage slave.
@bigthink 2 жыл бұрын
Here's some good pieces on the 'Great Resignation.' Definitely a huge phenomenon, though not a majority of workers - somewhere around 25-40% of people were planning to switch jobs. www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2021/05/16/why-millions-of-employees-plan-to-switch-jobs-post-covid/ www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/30/during-great-resignation-workers-refuse-accept-unacceptable/ Probably generally right that people who are struggling to afford increasing costs of living are less flexible, though we are seeing a lot of widespread labor shortages in various blue collar and restaurant-type jobs. Hopefully people even if they can't yet pursue the career of their dreams are at least managing to get better pay or working conditions.
@mimi1girl2dempsey3 2 жыл бұрын
I tell my grown kids that the most precious thing is now time. It's the one thing that all employers demand of their minions.
@oldschoolman1444 2 жыл бұрын
Slavery has never ended, it's just called being an employee now.
@theself5738 2 жыл бұрын
Time isn’t precious at all, because time is an illusion. -The Power of Now
@AllFather-TheStoicGod 2 жыл бұрын
@@oldschoolman1444 Serfs gotta serf.
@daveduffy2823 2 жыл бұрын
@@oldschoolman1444 There is plenty of slavery around today, even in the US. The 13th Amendment allows it for convicts. This is why there is a large private prison system making things today and also why any little thing gets you thrown in there.
@mnjkmnjk123 2 жыл бұрын
@@daveduffy2823 that's what you took away from this comment chain, really? People that generalize causes to such nuanced problems only make it more difficult to find solutions...
@TFHC_cc 2 жыл бұрын
It's physically impossible, for me, to express this though in a better way. Thank you. I dream of a Star Trek (yes, ST) like society where this is possible, as it is technically possible, desirable and honestly, in my humble opinion, the only way we will make it as a species. Let's end the great majority of problems in the world, by eliminating the cause: the endless and fallacy idea that global growth means economic growth, and that it is perpetual. Of course, this means shift to the direction the author of this video points.
@MissStateFan 2 жыл бұрын
I, too dream of a Star Trek society. I doubt we will see it in our lifetime.
@alexwilder8315 2 жыл бұрын
I don't think it would entail a shift. It sounds perfectly harmonious with what he is saying. It's just not the angle he's coming at the UBI issue from, because he's not an economist.
@spockboy 2 жыл бұрын
YES! The Star Trek utopia, not the boring, depressing post apocalyptic drudgery we have been inundated with for years now.
@TFHC_cc 2 жыл бұрын
@@alexwilder8315 I mean a shift of thought, more than a 'radical shift', that so many proponents of 'keep the status quo', use. And yes, you are right, it's not that shifty in that sense :)
@_nebulousthoughts 2 жыл бұрын
@@MissStateFan yeah I see some weird combination of mad Max and hunger games
@alwells5779 2 жыл бұрын
Yesterday, I heard Jordan Peterson talking about how you must give up everything you love if you want to be successful. You must work harder than everyone else or you will fall behind and never catch up. Then, I went to the gym, and I listened to an Audible book on John D. Rockefeller in which it was reported that he had a telegram wired to his house so he could garden, plant trees, and hang out with his children for 3 hours of his work day every day. The idea that work is the only answer is an antiquated and banal one.
@MKL874 2 жыл бұрын
Even though i like jordan peterson's way of thinking on various things, i have to agree with you on this one
@bertnorticus1662 2 жыл бұрын
JP has got some more learning to do.
@nathansilvestre1866 2 жыл бұрын
@@bertnorticus1662 very much so. His stance and take on life is very much like how people play rpgs: Grind grind grind
@bertnorticus1662 2 жыл бұрын
@@nathansilvestre1866 🤣🤣🤣 yeah I agree. He doesn't seem to have the capacity for entertaining an ulterior way of thinking to his own.
@cuongtranvan6397 2 жыл бұрын
Did Rockefeller do it when he was successful?
@codacreator6162 2 жыл бұрын
Because we are convinced that we must work or we serve no purpose. But, if you actually paid people to survive, the arts and academia would return, society would be better, and progress would be exponential.
@charlotte8659 2 жыл бұрын
Can we afford to pay people to survive though? We need people to do menial and practical jobs
@jimbo8651 2 жыл бұрын
@@charlotte8659 which means we need to make these jobs worthwhile with decent wages
@charlotte8659 2 жыл бұрын
@@jimbo8651 true
@henrysarwark5223 2 жыл бұрын
@@charlotte8659 no, we have automation for that.
@milld9345 2 жыл бұрын
The rich wouldn’t want that because that means they can’t control the masses and even though it would really benefit them. Also, greedy humans don’t just snap their fingers and decide to change all their behaviors for the good of all mankind. These patterns of selfishness, hoarding money is instilled in that persons life at a very young age usually and usually systemic through generations of family.
@Noztube 2 жыл бұрын
Whoever setup that white screen you're sitting in front of clearly has a BS job.
@Monkey80llx 2 жыл бұрын
😂
@officialspaceefrain 2 жыл бұрын
And the one who setup a camera on a tripod. Now the editor doesn’t have a bs job lol
@JJs_playground 2 жыл бұрын
Lmao.. savage
@iheysel 2 жыл бұрын
He didn’t say we ALL had BS jobs. Also towards the end of of the video he said we should do what we love. I’m pretty sure Steve Jobs loved what he did. A BS job is a job you have to do with no real value. If you love what you do it inherently has value because it’s valuable to you.
@bigthink 2 жыл бұрын
To be fair that's not their *only* job.
@juliai3956 2 жыл бұрын
This is a huge reason why I choose art for a career. I just love it and so it's meaningful. I hope everyone can follow their passions one day.
@Peanuts76 2 жыл бұрын
Yes, i have interest in art
@anirobledo2465 7 ай бұрын
I have an interest in art I personally don’t want to go to school for it as I feel it would pressure me and ruin my creativity…I want to be my own boss and sell my art/designs so having a degree is sort of useless in my case
@juliai3956 7 ай бұрын
@anirobledo2465 I think that's pretty common. As artists, we tend to like the right side of things and steer clear of the left as much as possible. But, there's nothing wrong with learning from others, I promise it won't stifle you. Even if you don't go to college for it, look at others' art and pick what you like from it. :) best of luck to you!
@mr.ambientsounds1291 Жыл бұрын
Society is not built on work. It's built on employment. There's so many types of productive activity that are not considered work, or that economics actively considers to be leisure (according to economics if you spend your day cooking, cleaning, reading, building a shed, looking after kids...etc then you were at leisure since youre not directly continuing to economic growth) and participation in them is often impeded by employment.
@robertbouchardt3357 2 жыл бұрын
I stopped working and I'm fine. I have like 10 hobbies though...
@cameronwilson3053 2 жыл бұрын
Great video. They sort of touch on this, but one of my biggest concerns about these bullshit jobs is that they crush the souls of those who work them. How can anyone feel their life has meaning when the only purpose of the work they perform 40hrs a week is just pointless busywork?
@smittypa6597 2 жыл бұрын
And now if you are in the professional management class, the isolation and disconnection of working from home
@Maria_Nikiforova_Fan Жыл бұрын
You should read the original work exploring this concept, "Bullshit Jobs" by David Graeber. It's an incredible disservice that his work isn't mentioned in this video, as he went far deeper on it than I could have ever imagined, and coined the term used in the title. "David Graeber on the Value of Work" is a brief video he helped make that explores the exact same idea you mentioned in your comment.
@ametsbb2814 2 жыл бұрын
I've been saying for a few years that I don't need to work, I need food and a roof over my head and some other things. Which might seem a trivial difference to other people, but not to me. I've been wondering why we demand and "create" jobs when most people I know don't like working (employed in a company at least). As if working was the goal, and not the money we earn for it. If we can produce the things and services we need already, why create more jobs? Well, this video helped me understand a little. I wish we could live without working if we don't want to (or working 15h/week, that'd be a nice start). And I'm a bit afraid to say these things in front of a lot of people because they look at you as if working was an inherent duty of humanity or something, and even thinking about not fulfilling that duty was a sin 😕 Well, I don't share those values. I go to work because I need the money/benefits. If I didn't, I'd be meeting up with my friends, my niece, doing voluntary work where I believe is needed and dedicating just the energy that I want to dedicate to it, visiting places, going to the mountain, the beach, cooking... Or doing nothing at all when I chose to.
@abdimalikbarkadle7559 2 жыл бұрын
I believe that too. I also think it's more important that we as humans must fulfill our needs first rather than focusing on putting our efforts into labour that bears nothing. In fact you'll feel like you need to be doing the work inorder to have the things you can't live without but if we take the time to think what's the best approach to take in these kind of circumstances
@wesama6073 2 жыл бұрын
The money you make with a job will never buy back the time lost
@Catlily5 2 жыл бұрын
But you can eat.
@kwancomics 2 жыл бұрын
Not our culture is the reason we don‘t have less work today. It is because capitalism doesn‘t work that way. Capitalism demands maximum exploitation of labor. The fruits of it that we value so much are a mere byproduct, not the aim of capitalism itself. You cannot change the outcome if you don’t change the basic mechanics of the economic system.
@haywoodjblome4768 2 жыл бұрын
Ah that must be workers in communist countries work such few hours, oh wait...
@hitachicordoba 2 жыл бұрын
Sounds like a college grad upper/ middle class problem. The working class is still working physically demanding, stressful "Shitty" jobs for a minimum wage that hasn't increased in decades.
@CR7Ashironaldo 2 жыл бұрын
Universal Basic Income will solve that problem, shitty jobs will be done by AIs
@notgate2624 2 жыл бұрын
As the wage in a job increases, normally what you do becomes increasingly pointless. There are tons of business and engineering positions where people sit around and talk about nothing, have meetings about nothing, etc.
@quintessenceSL 2 жыл бұрын
Essentially. The ugly realization that came with covid was that middle managers were wholly unnecessary to day to day operations. And they are paid how much more than your line workers? The best line I heard- "I have a paper that says I'm essential, and a paycheck that says I'm not."
@pabloramirez217 2 жыл бұрын
@@CR7Ashironaldo Plumbing and construction work too? I think this is more of a simple reduction of the situation. There are many "Shitty" jobs that are going to be very hard to automate, specially economically.
@buddharuci2701 2 жыл бұрын
Just one thing: hunter gatherers work/worked very little. Hunting is/was a far second to gathering. I call this out as a good thing. Do what is needed. Learn to play.
@danielsayre3385 2 жыл бұрын
The human prehistory that most of us grew up with is highly varied and unfortunately for a lot of us it was very speculative (wrong)! Whether it be because we were a part of a different generation, different year, or different location, we most likely learned some generalized idea of history that may not be correct or has since been changed. And it's still changing. For instance the gender-labor division that was a part of the narrative in some of our books would have caused our species significantly more sexual dimorphism IMO. And we have found intricately carved handaxes with shells in the center (which demonstrates a perception of beauty, and planning) from over 250,000 years ago, which even my more recent history books don't account for- and they SHOULD account for it. We have found evidence for agriculture that predates Gobekli Tepe by about 10,000 years, flint sickle and cereal/grain in Galilee from 23,000 years ago. (edit: the age of agriculture being pushed back further shows that AS SOON THEY COULD they were practicing agriculture during the last iceage IMO)
@cat-le1hf 2 жыл бұрын
The hunters and the gatherers were not usually the same. I am a hunter. This is demonstrated by most of my jobs requiring intelligence, cunning, and in some cases agility. Red teaming in cybersecurity is very fun. However, the majority of you are gatherers. The world is starting to favor hunters over gatherers, as gatherers have no function in a world of automation.
@Gra1i1ude 2 жыл бұрын
@@cat-le1hf So gatherers will get to relax more, hurrah!
@guitarmusic524 2 жыл бұрын
Have you ever butchered an animal? Cleaned fish? Cleaned the mess? Dug holes to bury the waste?
@danielsayre3385 2 жыл бұрын
@@cat-le1hf "the hunter and gatherers were not usually the same" [people], I disagree.
@brandyguo 2 жыл бұрын
I love this video! Although just one thing that the instinct to work doesn’t explain everything. People today are constantly brainwashed to have new needs because the capitalist society needs to keep economic growth. Therefore we’re producing much more than we need and people have to waste their life doing bullshit jobs. I think that’s a much more serious root cause of all these.
@haydenbrophy9460 2 жыл бұрын
Would you like to work in a force-labor camp in the Soviet Union? Cause that's the alternative to Capitalism.
@brandyguo 2 жыл бұрын
@@haydenbrophy9460 there are many alternatives to capitalism. What you said is just one of the bad ones:) The future is pluriverse. I invite you to search for degrowth or post-development.
@mnjkmnjk123 2 жыл бұрын
@@brandyguo alts sure but nothing inherently wrong with any of them, models are just models until we act them out and screw it all up. There is plenty of socialist policy everywhere in "free market" governed nations/states. The idea that any world power isn't just going by their own ratios between these schools of thought and that you can replace them with another like switch an engine is beyond silly, it's counterproductive to the cause you pretend to rally for and doing so while telling someone to further inform at least gave me laugh.
@brandyguo 2 жыл бұрын
@@mnjkmnjk123 of course as long as it exists it’s reasonable. But reasonable doesn’t mean it’s the best choice. And exactly as you said we try until we screw up haha. Now we already screwed up the earth so it’s good time to explore other possibilities. I didn’t say I’m a socialist and I’m happy you used quote mark for “free market” because in reality it doesn’t exist anywhere. And my invitation is just my appreciation of a school of thought (note it’s not an ideology) and in that school of thought nobody’s looking for a switch-like change and that’s actually the point, so I’m happy that you agree with that too. I didn’t prevent anyone to look for other options either. Anyone’s free to choose, free to share and come up with their own brilliant ideas🙂
@mjoe7561 2 жыл бұрын
Hmm perhaps humans are like cancer for the Earth. Growth for growth sake.
@Dialogos1989 2 жыл бұрын
We get this little slice of life to understand what we are, to develop our minds, bodies, and relationships to their fullest. We produce much more than we need, and yet somehow we still need to waste most of our time working jobs that don’t serve a necessary purpose, to make lots of money for someone we never met, to buy things that we don’t need. Our society is CLEARLY sick, and most people cannot acknowledge it. Rates of depression and other mental illness are skyrocketing. This is typically blamed on social media or our “spoiled” generation. But I think something else is happening. We are realizing the futility of this rat race. We are waking up.
@TheLafain 2 жыл бұрын
@@DivergentStyles Why arnt you doing it yourself than?
@Dialogos1989 2 жыл бұрын
@Petar Jovic he probably has a conscience
@Rnankn 2 жыл бұрын
Awareness is not enough. It’s change or die, at this point.
@CrownHetman 2 жыл бұрын
First we have to define what is work. Is it slaving to someone just for the means to survive or is it towards ones self and the benefit of self growth doing what we love or are good at. More often that not we do what we have to to survive not to live the life we want.
@moirvlcionaria3960 2 жыл бұрын
I understand his point and all, but sadly it’s a different case for many third world countries. Many went through a different experience during lockdown, like trying to survive and just being able to live another day. Not everyone had the privilege to use the lockdown as a way to get in touch with themselves and be in a path of self-discovery.
@davidcripps3011 2 жыл бұрын
Agree
@samanthagreen8054 2 жыл бұрын
I agree AND would add ALL COUNTRIES are suffering just to SURVIVE. America, where I live, has millions who are homeless, unemployed and starving. Worse- many are actually WORKING-POOR, no longer working class, as quality fair living wages with benefits ended in the 1980s. The pandemic made their lives WORSE in a way that is truly apocalyptic, especially since the media and government ignores these types of people. For every lucky person who had the option to Work From Home-based there were scores of Wage Slaves who got fired, lost their public transportation to get to work and could NOT afford Uber so lost their job, got laid off and because they lived PAYCHECK-TO-PAYCHECK got behind on all their bills & rent.............and NOT EVERYBODY received unemployment or government assistance.
@seigemusic423 2 жыл бұрын
But that self discovery will allows those people to help others, that's the point, there's levels, there's other under you who simply died, i don't have to say that to get my point across, i can just try to help
@Zilron38 2 жыл бұрын
Agree, not sure many other people realise that we only have this luxurious life of doing what we want because there are millions of people in third world countries providing products by working their ass off for little money. If they stop producing for us, we would have severe shortages and then a lot of people would have to go and work in production and would not be able to sit around and enjoy the benefit of free time.
@strayedarticle7666 2 жыл бұрын
Samantha Green I also live in America and everyone I know worked through the pandemic.Meanwhile every apartment in my neighborhood went up $70-$200 the first week of the pandemic,but wages stayed the same.Working with the worry of this new unknown threat caused a lot of worry,because even healthy people have gotten $1 million medical bills,and essential workers probably won’t ever see that much money,but could potentially get that bill.
@orionmedivh5859 2 жыл бұрын
The real problem is that we work for the interests of other people, but not our own. That’s why many jobs seem meaningless yet they exist. It all boils down to how the system works - most people’s work are dictated by the top 1%, and their interests are basically driven by greed.
@danzigvssartre 2 жыл бұрын
Ever had a work meeting where most of the discussion was about when the next work meeting will take place?
@ANDROLOMA 2 жыл бұрын
It's impossible for most people to be proud of the crappy things they have to do in order to earn a living. -Alexander King
@boathemian7694 2 жыл бұрын
Fifteen hour week sounds great. Where do I sign up? Oooooooooh, right, Almost forgot the ghouls at the top of our pyramid scheme need even more money.
@english_5359 7 ай бұрын
What’s depressing about it is that I need to beg to get this meaningless bs job to pay my bills.
@efortune357 2 жыл бұрын
4:15 “When Keynes predicted the economic utopia that he imagined, he argued that there was only one real obstacle to achieving that and he described that as our instinct to work, our instinct that had been forged at the fires of evolution. But there’s a real concern that the very medicine that brought us this extraordinary prosperity is now likely to make the patient sick.” ~James Suzman indeed
@miguellopes9208 2 жыл бұрын
This is very true. Most people these days can do their job in just 2, 3 hours a day, yet we continue lock in this idea that we have to work 40 hours a week. For me it makes no sense at all. I have work some jobs that i felt that i could have done the job for the week in 4/5 hours, and that work didnt have much purpose, yet i had to be there 8 hours a day and i began to wonder i tha weck we still organize our society like these.
@sb2126 8 ай бұрын
I left the work I was doing because of the toxic bullshit. The effect on my health was significant and I suffered a long bout of depression. After the lockdowns and the supermarket food hikes, I suddenly found a passion that I never knew existed. Gardening. I am obsessed with raising seeds to maturity and regenerating them. Our garden has been full of tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, sunflowers, and lettuce. I overproduce them. I have found an appreciation and empathy for the natural world that I never realized I had.
@rl876 2 жыл бұрын
i usually finish all my emails, all my reports before i get in the office every morning. my day finishes 45 minutes before i get to work. then the rest of the day is filled with interactions, relationship building and encourging my team, which is very useful but then there are the constant, pointless meetings and doing things for my supervisors or others that are completely BS. so, yes, great video and completely agree with this comcept. when do we start?
@istvanpraha 5 ай бұрын
Sort of same but the huge hitch in your logic is assuming the things for other people are pointless overalll. I’ve been the misunderstood genius and the only reason my work was “pointless” was because other people put no effort into anything and didn’t want to change. It wasn’t because my job was inherently pointless
@houseofamofo2011 2 жыл бұрын
We have so much abundance and yet so many of us still live in the scarcity fear bound mindset. Yet more of us are waking up to Truth. Abundance is within because it is a birthright and it has always been around us. Dear friends if you can please channel gratitude for what you already have today, instead of focusing on all that you lack. In doing so you will inspire others to focus on what they are grateful for and raise humanity’s vibration so we can all end up making money by doing what we love ❤️
@Bradgilliswhammyman 2 жыл бұрын
I am waiting for a post scarcity society like exists in Star Trek TNG. Replicators would go a long way toward that.
@Junior-bm7ku 2 жыл бұрын
THIS IS THE BEST! MOST REAL! KZfaq COMMENT EVER! Let’s enjoy this Life Earth family 🙏🏽💙☮️💪🏽
@chellobalgar9552 2 жыл бұрын
Are you going to show and teach people how to do this? If not, you are simply sharing a life philosophy
@KarlSnarks 2 жыл бұрын
@@Bradgilliswhammyman I think we can only reach post scarcity if we change the idea of what we need. As long as people want a mansion and ten cars, we will still exploit the resources of developing nations to get this. Instead we should focus on enjoying leasure, cherishing friends and family, live smaller, and find meaning in our passions and (low-carbon) traveling. Not just individually, but the whole system should be geared towards that idea of wellbeing. We can still pursue knowledge and exploration like in Star Trek though, just not produce mindlessly for the sake of more consumption.
@CB-ke7eq 2 жыл бұрын
The point that James makes at the end should be the sell for UBI. Regardless of your political leanings, who wouldn't want to say "fuck this job!" and go instead do what they actually enjoy??
@hankjohnson3902 2 жыл бұрын
Wow - I've been thinking exactly this for the past couple of years - so glad that you made this video. I think we will continue to create new jobs as long as we are around. Great video. Thank you.
@bradturner7678 2 жыл бұрын
Id be happy to push for a 4 day work week, i currently do 5 day 8 hour days, and started using unspent holiday for 3 day weekends, i feel so much better. Id be happy to work more hours those 4 days if my boss would let me to match the hours. When your day is centered around work you feel burnt out when you get home and i usually just relax and waste time, where as the weekends im much more focused on doing something for myself.
@mrknarf4438 2 жыл бұрын
4 days, 6 hours would probably not even impact production
@CaptainUrielVentris7 2 жыл бұрын
The concentrated ownership of the means of production has also meant that most of society does not have a share of the resources our productivity generates.
@laaaliiiluuu 2 жыл бұрын
Hasn't that the goal been from the beginning? We work and "they up there" can live in luxury at our expense?
@AGirlofYesterday 2 жыл бұрын
@@laaaliiiluuu Yup. Just like in Fritz Lang's Metropolis 1927. The wealthy hardly have to lift a finger today yet there is plenty of bs work done on their behalf.
@Mrbfgray 2 жыл бұрын
Been millions of unfilled 6 figure income REAL JOBS in the USA trades for decades, more than ever now, but who wants a job with any physical component especially when the trades have been stupidly stigmatized this century by our culture. For those with work ethics who can rise above mindless status, it's a big broad opportunity.
@maxtamang9028 2 жыл бұрын
The editing and the photographs in this video are amazing!
@jennifermoore2041 2 жыл бұрын
We work because our ability to produce for ourselves has been removed systematically.
@Sammy-cm9ce 2 жыл бұрын
I think that we should enforce basic human rights; the UN should. Food should not be going to landfill when people are starving. All these foods should go to specific places that people under a certain income can go to get free food, always. Not just homeless shelters, proper places that can be government funded specifically to feed those in need (Businesses should not be buying excess anyway). Logistics companies could be set up to transport food from businesses to these places - creating more jobs even. No one should be starving to death. People can't find work if all they're trying to find is food and shelter.
@KimberlyLetsGo 2 жыл бұрын
I've had so many BS jobs!! Thank goodness I'm now retired. I have to remind myself that I can, actually go outside whenever I want!
@qcostello Жыл бұрын
Would you be willing to talk about your various BS Jobs? I ask as I'm doing a bit of research on this very topic!
@myozbubble Жыл бұрын
@@qcostello if you are legit, sure.
@johnchedsey1306 2 жыл бұрын
Like many, my most recent job was one that I could accomplish most tasks by 10 AM and the could have spent the rest of the day doing much more enjoyable things...but we billed clients by the hour. You had to sit in front of your laptop. Over the past decade, I can't even count the number of nice afternoons where I should have been outside doing something enjoyable, not looking longingly out the window.
@johnhastingsinfo 10 күн бұрын
Agreed. Land and property ownership is the biggest unspoken driver of human slavery today. It’s the biggest expense pushing people into BS jobs.
@doc2590 2 жыл бұрын
I absolutely can't stand it when I hear the politicians saying, jobs jobs jobs, we will create jobs as if its a good thing. It's torture, who the fuck wants to work in a BS job just to stay alive. We do need a UBI. I agree completely.
@zaratustra00 2 жыл бұрын
people love to go to work because then they do not have to spend time with their family/kids/husbands/etc.
@user-ov2fc5sd1e 2 жыл бұрын
I work in a relatively tiresome job and I absolutely hate everything about it but I doubt I will quit anytime in the next 15 years at least, cuz I've only just began 2 years ago and I get paid obscenely well (relatively speaking) plus I get numerous benefits like a brand new leased car every year, discounted gas prices, premium health insurance for me and my parents as well as spouse and future children, but best of all is the job security since I work in the public sector it's very hard to get laid off unless I do something really stupid
@daemondost7168 2 жыл бұрын
You are self imposing your own misery.
@XPrincess30 2 жыл бұрын
Wtf kind of job is that and how do I get one
@Rnankn 2 жыл бұрын
This is what my friends used to call “the golden shackles”.
@hernanluciani2666 Жыл бұрын
UBI: People will start to play videogames all day... im still in favor
@michaelweaver2627 2 жыл бұрын
The problem is that most people don't really care that much about the welfare of everyone. We could certainty have a much better world but sharing is not a concept that we really embrace and most certainly not those driven people who tend to hold the power and money. Right now all that additional productive capacity is going to the top where they almost have to be creative to actually find something to do with it. Yacht's the size of cruise ships, joy rides into space, mansions on every continent.
@k.t.k.9781 2 жыл бұрын
The beautiful irony of the commercial at the end.
@PsyferInc 2 жыл бұрын
It's very important to understand what a "dead-end job" is... Especially for new employees or young people without a direct education into a work field. I really liked my 1st job. I started off as a "helper" and became my boss's right-hand man, only to be laid-off 10 years later due to a budget cut. A lesson was learned then and will forever be with me. Unfortunately, it was a dead-end job. Also, it is good to have at least one crappy job or experience a very hard/tough job and do well. In doing so, you will appreciate all other jobs... We need more people to enjoy doing what they do!
@goodmaro 6 ай бұрын
Was it dead-end because it didn't prepare you for any other job?
@crystalfullerton3908 2 жыл бұрын
Our basic needs are not being met. Work is what we do to be judged worthy of having our basic needs met.
@gurpreetdhaliwal1348 2 жыл бұрын
My job was bullshit. I was working in service industry and working with multiple clients and about 12 hrs a day. I swiched different services companies with same bulshit jobs just to increase package and I knew that I need to do something about it. Then one day I joined one of my clients and now I am hardly working for 2 hours a day.
@romanbrandle319 2 жыл бұрын
I've been an amateur musician my whole life , but I have never made money from it . I never liked the jobs that I did but in most cases it was work that needed to be done physical labour . I would estimate that about half the jobs people do here in Australia are bullshit , it's best not to tell them they get insulted .
@damonjennings4792 2 жыл бұрын
The world has more than enough musicians..1% of them are making money. Tough gig.
@himura357 2 жыл бұрын
All artists sympathize with you my friend. We simply don't fit in, our skills are not in demand unless you get creative about what products and services you create.
@231584564 2 жыл бұрын
Work is now means of control
@gojiberry7201 2 жыл бұрын
Oh yeah. God forbid you finish your tasks early -- watch the manager panic and scramble for something for you to do: "Here's a stack of mail. You can take out the staples." It happens in schools, too. I remember finishing my schoolwork early, and the professor kept giving me more stuff to do to fill up the time. So actually I was kind of punished for doing well by being given more stuff. It's pretty ridiculous
@Deedee-ee1sg 2 жыл бұрын
Have had many crap jobs, being a cleaner, waitress, and then learning to type and working as office junior, then secretary. Hated all these jobs, but had no choice as I was homeless at 16! Needed money to pay for hostels and bedsits. If you have no family support it's extremely hard making your way in the world. I've also, as I got older, been a member of a dance company (no pay), worked on a paper, published a volume of poetry, became a singer and songwriter, but without financial help those jobs are difficult to make enough to pay rent, tax and bills! Which is why most people in the Arts are from middle-class backgrounds. I like the idea of a UBI!
@goifur 2 жыл бұрын
But why do so many people go hungry then, if we have so much food where is it, who is keeping the food away
@mnjkmnjk123 2 жыл бұрын
No one could objectively answer what you're asking without the answer being as ambiguous as the question itself but I'll try to generalize best I can. It's like this I suppose, are you the perfect you? Do you sometimes fall short of your own/other's ideals instead? Sometimes through ignorance or arrogance or simply ineptitude you make all sort's of mistakes correct? Now even worse sometimes we do the wrong thing on purpose, act in an entirely immoral way to benefit ourselves or be petty, minor things like doing things a day late or being a little selfish and eating that last slice of pizza, sometimes more major, you hurt me I hurt you etc. Even worse on occasion we even act in a malevolent way and hurt others simply be cause we can. Of course we all are and do the opposite as well but in respect to not just individuals but firms, corps, institutions and even nations can be viewed in the same scope. When enough of these actors conduct themselves in bad faith they cause a variety of issues however it's not to suggest that it's all accomplished through organized negligence/compliance, things go right and wrong in life always. We can all imagine a perfect place or see what's morally or ethically wrong, even easier after the fact but that in no way means that will or frankly even could actually have happened. Are particular persons or groups acting "worse" or in a way that perpetuates the suffering of others more or with more intent, yeah sure, but the actual problem goes beyond them to the flaws of the human condition instead. We are not perfect, we are corruptible and life is finite. Those things are problems we can work on and by addressing those instances across all spectrums then solving those problems together by doing what you can is our only way forwards. I find it helps to remind yourself that we are in essence the same, and even as individuals far more similar than different, not in a way that undermines their or your own wrong doing but rather to help acknowledge and accept flaws within yourself and be more willing to forgive and move forward with others who must address their own but not to simply forgive and forget or rationalize a lack of effort to change. Contentment can be found by both constantly seeking self improvement and being accepting regardless of the result, or so I've heard. I understand what you were alluding too or I suppose insinuating with your question and in that sense it may have been entirely rhetorical but still what I wrote might do you or somebody some good I hope lol
@allesdurchprobiert 2 жыл бұрын
The free market and its wrong incentives.
@invox9490 2 жыл бұрын
I think he forgot to mention two things: 1st landlords - yes we had lands to farm but most of it was owned by someone who, for a price, defended us from attackers (at least at the beginning). 2nd the industral revolution - the 8h 5 day workweek was established because we now serve the machine. BOTH of these are still in affect right now and both weight heavelly in managing the economy but most of all in controling the population. IF we all get what we need, we'll soon realise we do not need many (not all mind you) of the HIGH goverment establishments we have right now. And that is something they will absolutely not have us do.
@Mr440c 2 жыл бұрын
I don't think that's going to be an issue. Government's functions will simply change. Society must allways be maintained in one way or the other.
@SjorsHoukes 2 жыл бұрын
Funny how the reason most people work (money to stay alive in an unfair economic system) is basically ignored here.
@danielvanginkel7081 2 жыл бұрын
We will never find a utopia because we're all too busy competing with each other. So long as we keep treating existence as a competition we will know winners, losers and cheaters. And if you can only get ahead in this game by having someone else get behind, then over all we won't move forward at all.
@elvinhayes7120 2 жыл бұрын
I spent 20 years practicing law, and most of it was pure bullshit.
@cherylcarlson3315 2 жыл бұрын
I know so many people and issues that need your skill set but can't pay hefty retainers only to abandon or give no real attention to the matter so vital to clients. Reject BS and be the champion we need
@catherinemoore9534 2 жыл бұрын
Work is based on scarcity, including scarcity of money. We are enslaved to a system that benefits the elite. A basic income would revolutionise the meaning of ' work,'. What makes work shitty is more its inevitably than its content: most people end up justifying their job if they feel it's their choice.
@KarlSnarks 2 жыл бұрын
UBI is not bad in and of itself, but could be used by the elite to cut down on other wellfare policies like free healthcare, and could be a minimum concession by the elite. If we truly want to be free from the tyranny we should democratize the economy for workers, through local communal ownership, worker cooperatives (and federation of cooperatives to make it less cut-throat than the current market), participatory budgeting etc.
@cassie7420 6 ай бұрын
The most necessary jobs that require the greatest number of hours are the least paid. A lot of white-collar work is crucial but (in some fields- obviously not all) it does not require consistent back-to-back production like what's needed in hospitals, restaurants, construction or other high-demand (usually) blue collar jobs (although better shift management could be a thing). To force a 40-hour work week schedule when such a week does not call for it; I believe develops an ideology that results in a reduction of the quality of work that is done when it is time to do "actual work".
@sturmtigerDMW 2 жыл бұрын
I must say the production value of this new format is very impressive. Keep it up!
@gorgzilla1712 2 жыл бұрын
I feel like the greatest challenge for someone looking for work is not finding a job, but finding a meaningful job. There's a sea of bs jobs out there. That's what I feel as a student anyway. So many people are trapped in meaningless humdrum 40 hours a week- humdrum that could be performed by machines. It's such a waste of human potential. As someone who hopes to be an AI engineer, I look forward to a world where the meaningful, inherently human work (art, science, engineering, teaching, healthcare, babysitting, hospitality, carpentry, etc.) is done by humans, and the boring, repetitive and/or laborious work is left to machines.
@HolgerJakobs 2 жыл бұрын
Unfortunately, many people can't get by without work, because they need the pay. Costs for home/shelter including energy have gone up sharply, so that even people working full time but minimum wage struggle to make ends meet. Work and wealth should be more evenly distributed, but the haves are very strong, stronger than the havenots. That's the point.
@baatar 2 жыл бұрын
I think a lot of people forget that we are living in the year 2021, the 21st century. MOST jobs can be automated easily. It’s not technically impossible but we are hindered by cultural and societal norms about work.
@Monkey80llx 2 жыл бұрын
Why would companies/governments let you have a more comfortable life and help provide it for you...so you can realise how corrupt or unnecessary a 60 hour week is, when they can convince you that you need to have 'stuff' to be happy/impress people and that you need to work harder and for longer hours to earn what's needed to pay for it?!
@austins88 2 жыл бұрын
I agree and im just adding on to what you said. The 40 hr work week was designed for the male to recieve a LIVEABLE wage to support the family. All while the wife and kids stay home. Because of the cronyism up top And the rugged individualism that has bastardized west. Most Americans don't struggle because LAzInEss or UnWillingNeSs. It's because the concept of "livable wage" has been thrown out the window for American voters to think about. People think $15 per hour is livable? Pffff... a livable wage would be around and average of $24 per hour if wages grew with inflation and GDP. Bootstraps won't help anyone in this situation. Massive worker strikes will.
@milld9345 2 жыл бұрын
I think in generations to come when things get worse for westerners lower to middle class, there will be an uprising of some sort. So the rich people’s own bank balance will tank. I suppose this is already happening in some other countries and all that happens is the military and government become more harsh, not understanding that they are making it harder for themselves too by ruining their country and the planet. But that’s what happens when each country is run by various degrees of corruption. Hard to crush corruption as it seems always inevitable the higher you go.
@N.E.U.R.O 2 жыл бұрын
Plus imagine if we built technology to its highest possible standard and didn't need to put out so many versions that break all the time
@Rnankn 2 жыл бұрын
Obsolescence is a travesty and a fraud of unbelievable scale.
@Aquarius. 2 жыл бұрын
getting Employment to then spend a fortune on staying Employed is pretty warped
@julieisthatart 2 жыл бұрын
There is a vast difference between having work and having a job. The social attitude that people need to have a job is what is bullshit. The need to work is good, it is normal and human, that need produces not just necessary life products for everyone, but needed life value to the worker. People have been convinced that they need a job, which they hate, so they can pay insurance which is a scam to produce income for insurance industry, and buy a house which is not made for living well for the buyer, but made for profit for the builder. Every one of these needs is based not on the needs, hopes, and wants of the people who are buying but on the greed of the producer. This is just plain crazy, and is suicidal for humanity. Do we really want to kill ourselves for some stupid idea we do not even believe in, but are being told is what we want?
@Selisu1 2 жыл бұрын
Awesome piece. I just wanted to add a thought. Industrialization has never created any jobs. Ever. Every job that industrialization created was a job for a robot. Until recently the technology needed to build those robots didn't exist. So we put humans in jobs meant for robots. As time went on, technology increased and robots became better, and displaced the humans. Consequently, robots have never taken anyone's jobs. Every job that a robot takes was always the robot's job.
@lydiadavies7073 2 жыл бұрын
I had a office job as an assistant manager in a big company, and being only 25 I had a strong urge to work part time and yet felt too embarrassed to ask to do this, as nobody my age works part time in this profession. I wish part time work was normalised for young people, who don't have the excuse of kids etc as to why they want to go part time, I just want to be able to confidently say 'for better work life balance ' and not feel scared of stigma..
@StevenTaylorDrums Жыл бұрын
who gives a fuck if it is 'normal' or not? If you want part-time and are able to afford and it will improve your state of being, do it. I did and I will not be returning to full-time work any time soon/if at all
@BinManSays87 2 жыл бұрын
Funny thing about this is that I work a BS job which gives me so much spare time and when I finish my BS job I come home and push myself to build and learn something new which I could easily turn into a business that'd pay me £30 an hour which I'm actually trained in..... Before anyone asks I do this because my BS job allows me to be outside and get my cardio in and pays the bills and I'd rather be able to follow my passion on my own terms because working my trained profession gets mundane and exhausting
@allthewayfrom 2 жыл бұрын
Hey Dave, I'm glad your BS job gives you all that spare time. But for most of us, our BS job(s) are very stressful, consuming a lot of our time, energy and attention.
@peterriggio9853 2 жыл бұрын
Anything in life can get mundane
@bradturner7678 2 жыл бұрын
What job is it you do that allows all this spare time?
@samanthahardy9903 Жыл бұрын
Consummerism and capitalism is a real problem. Todays society works to buy more of what we don't need, to impress others and to increase profits for businesses.
@dlerious77 2 жыл бұрын
yes!!!...this I how I felt most of my life and I think now we are the closest we have ever come to actual universal income...vote for it people...I want more time to spend with my family and less time with these bullshit jobs that we hate
@codacreator6162 2 жыл бұрын
Everybody’s basic needs COULD very easily be met. But for the greedy Capitalists controlling labor and keeping all of the money.
@nsaylor9 2 жыл бұрын
Are you 14? This is a very childish opinion.
@OmniphonProductions 2 жыл бұрын
The technological capacity Keynes predicted may have been accomplished, but when he published _Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren,_ the total global population was 2 Billion. Today, thanks to continued, exponential population growth, it's approaching 8 Billion. Scarcity isn't the problem, but _Distribution Infrastructure_ continues to be...largely because those _most_ able to make it happen are _least_ likely to donate their abundantly imbalanced share of resources to the project(s).
@NewLife-qj9mx 6 ай бұрын
I went to the grocery store - with all my goods on the conveyor I said to the woman "I will trade you this piece of paper for all these goods, deal?" (money) the way she looked at me I could tell her first thought was "call security". People simply get lost in what they are doing and lose sight of why.
@msheehandub 2 жыл бұрын
It's why I work in healthcare. My job can't be replaced by automation or i can't be let go due to downsizing. I help sick people. It's rewarding.
@Rnankn 2 жыл бұрын
Doctors likely can be replaced, but not nurses.
@carbsncaffeine9254 2 жыл бұрын
hehe yep I went back to school for Biology and plan on going the healthcare route too
@racookster 2 жыл бұрын
@@Rnankn - Yes, I can foresee a day when everybody answers a few questions on a website, sticks some sensors on their body and plugs them into a USB port, and an AI diagnoses them and either sends a prescription to a pharmacy or makes an appointment with a lab for further tests, but your computer isn't going to clean you up and change your sheets when you shit your bed.
@ASMRPeople 2 жыл бұрын
No worries this whole pandemic situation is slowly turning the paradigm on it's head. Mcdonalds can't find anybody at $15/hr. At my factory we're not hiring HR, but we are hiring millwrights & janitors. The free market is finally starting to pay productive people more than paper jockeys.
@scourge6563 2 жыл бұрын
Scarcity is less a problem these days than allocation. Despite material wealth or surplus in the aggregate, there are still people starving, or otherwise without basic necessities of life.
@jonathanwarner4720 Күн бұрын
If we fancy ourselves as better than other animals why would we think that normal work should be mandatory?
@ziguirayou 2 жыл бұрын
The question is, who is to say someone's needs are met? The State or the individual? In there lies the answer...
@MaaveMaave 2 жыл бұрын
And people compare themselves to others so much. Wants turn into needs
@bradturner7678 2 жыл бұрын
@@MaaveMaave with the internet as it is now and the high consumption of social media its almost impossible to not compare youraelf. We're shown people having fun and getting more money than most will see in their lifetimes, and when we look back at our own lives we cant help but feel sad on what might have been if we were different.
@allesdurchprobiert 2 жыл бұрын
Did you understand that receiving UBI doesn't prevent people to work on top of that?
@ziguirayou 2 жыл бұрын
@@allesdurchprobiert Did you understand that UBI isn't created out of thin air? The government must expropriate your work in order to pay UBI to me. If you're comfortable with that, there are plenty of chores here that need doing. You're welcome to come work for me for free.
@allesdurchprobiert 2 жыл бұрын
@@ziguirayou Literally everyone gets UBI. Just read how it works, or a discussion doesn't make much sense. It's not simply a higher welfare.