Devastated to hear about the death of David Graeber. He was an intellectual giant, full of humanity, someone whose work inspired and encouraged and educated so many.If you haven't read his work, consider doing it now and let his legacy live on.Rest In Power, David Graeber.— Owen Jones 🌹 (@OwenJones84) September 3, 2020
I’ve read a few sections of Bullshit Jobs over and over again. His analysis of organization dynamics, why capitalism perpetuates unproductive work and the utility thereof feel sspot on. What inspired me the most and hit the hardest in that book was his descriptions of how pre-capitalist man thought of himself, the economy, and his relations to other people and classes. I almost wept at the thought of medieval peasants demanding rights and obligations that I was too conditioned to ever think to demand for myself.
Finally, the egalitarianism of his approach was something to be celebrated. The whole project of Bullshit Jobs was to take the observations of workers seriously, rather than treating their views with distrust, instrumentalizing their experience to reify your own notions. He treated those who contributed their views as collaborators, experts in their own experience and added his own expertise as an anthropologist to synthesize and draw connections. Its a powerfully horizontalist approach, and one we should take seriously if we are to theorize our way to a better society.
I still remember reading the story of "Eric" a young guy working in IT at a job where no one needed him to actually do his job, he was merely hired to postpone a dispute between his bosses indefinitely, and never do anything. The story of personal self destruction that followed rang very true to me, even without capitalism work is important to people, it's a part of their identity and feeling of self worth. We want to know that we are good at something, good for something, and denying a person that is just cruel.
wtf, 2020 is brutal... hell world
Just read his book bullshit jobs this year.
Debt: The First 5000 Years really great as well.
Fuck this year just keeps getting worse.
I’ve read a few sections of Bullshit Jobs over and over again. His analysis of organization dynamics, why capitalism perpetuates unproductive work and the utility thereof feel sspot on. What inspired me the most and hit the hardest in that book was his descriptions of how pre-capitalist man thought of himself, the economy, and his relations to other people and classes. I almost wept at the thought of medieval peasants demanding rights and obligations that I was too conditioned to ever think to demand for myself.
Finally, the egalitarianism of his approach was something to be celebrated. The whole project of Bullshit Jobs was to take the observations of workers seriously, rather than treating their views with distrust, instrumentalizing their experience to reify your own notions. He treated those who contributed their views as collaborators, experts in their own experience and added his own expertise as an anthropologist to synthesize and draw connections. Its a powerfully horizontalist approach, and one we should take seriously if we are to theorize our way to a better society.
I still remember reading the story of "Eric" a young guy working in IT at a job where no one needed him to actually do his job, he was merely hired to postpone a dispute between his bosses indefinitely, and never do anything. The story of personal self destruction that followed rang very true to me, even without capitalism work is important to people, it's a part of their identity and feeling of self worth. We want to know that we are good at something, good for something, and denying a person that is just cruel.
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