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On 'Bullshit Jobs'
Wright, Chris
http://dissidentvoice.org/2018/08/on-bullshit-jobs/Date Written: 2018-08-10 Publisher: Dissident Voice Year Published: 2018 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX22924 A review of the book "Bullshit Jobs: A Theory" by anthropologist David Graeber, which provides a classification for the many forms of employment, some which he deems not only meaningless and unfullfilling, but ultimately harmful to society. Abstract: -- Excerpt: Graeber devotes a couple of chapters to what it's like to work in a bullshit job and why people so often report themselves miserable. According to bourgeois psychological theories, after all, it might seem that some of these jobs are great. You hardly have to work, you have barely any real responsibilities, you can spend hours playing computer games or surfing the web. You can (in many cases) be almost as lazy as, supposedly, you want to be just by virtue of being human. But of course humans are not, in fact, lazy by nature, creatures who have to be driven to work, as bourgeois ideologies proclaim. They want to work, but on creative and enjoyable tasks. Their fundamental desire is not to slack off but to have a meaningful life, full of purpose, creativity, exploration, and love, a life of contributions to the world. To work in an utterly pointless job, therefore, day in and day out, month after month, can be maddening, soul-killing torture. It seems that the respect and prestige these people might be accorded can make it even worse, heightening their sense of being frauds or parasites. Subject Headings |