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.
On the phenomenon of bullshit jobs.
We don’t talk about it because we drink. Seriously. Alcohol is probably the best drug (yes, I put alcohol in the drug folder) to forget things like unhappiness and heart pain and it’s super legal. We all did it. Some do every weekend. Some countries are known for this tradition of Friday alcohol abuse, passing out at 9:30pm (hi mate).
We know that we can sustain humanity with much less work than what the norm is. We know that effectively, more than 40 hours a week is absolutely unproductive and destructive. Working hours are decreasing all around the world but in the US. We know that we spend an insane amount of time commuting and that most companies inertia makes it impossible to scale up efficiency anyway. We swim an ocean of oil. Then we get our salaries and try to forget about all that shit with a couple of bottles. Some people have plans, they work those BS jobs to invest, create something but a lot just don’t have anything but that job and a rent. Next thing you know, they start swinging at home. This is how it happens. Stress.
I am all for a Basic Income. Numbers and facts are all leading to this. Except that it breaks so many people’s mind because Sweet Jesus of Murica, that is close to communism. Most people still believe in a system that is pretty much, a mirage. They got lucky or they think they will. Meanwhile they fight to not punch that stupid coworker in the face. The answer is: Think Different *wink*
I think basic income is just fair. There are so much money –trillions- out there wasted are you shitting me? I’d rather know that taxes I pay are directly going to someone’s pocket, money she/he will spend around, maybe buying my stuff. It just feels like the right thing to do to engage people in doing things they like instead of struggling, making the worst decisions just to get by. It is unfair and we have the resources to deal nicely with it, making people accountable with maximum transparency.
We just need to change and when I see how people can’t with stupid things like a damn menu not being present in an OS, I doubt we can change our global vision of how to life on this planet, instantly killing so many people’s efforts and dreams of rising above “the rest”.
But then, we’d be good. I, for one, have a dream.