I often daydream about how society would be if we were not forced by society to pigeon hole ourselves into a specialized career for maximizing the profits of capitalists, and sell most of our time for it.
The idea of creating an entire identity for you around your “career” and only specializing in one thing would be ridiculous in another universe. Humans have so much natural potential for breadth, but that is just not compatible with capitalism.
This is evident with how most people develop “hobbies” outside of work, like wood working, gardening, electronics, music, etc. This idea of separating “hobbies” and the thing we do most of our lives (work) is ridiculous.
Here’s how my world could be different if I owned my time and dedicated it to the benefit of my own and my community instead of capitalists:
- more reading, learning and excusing knowledge with others.
- learn more handy work, like plumbing and wood working. I love customizing my own home!
- more gardening
- participate in the transportation system (picking up shifts to drive a bus for example)
- become a tour guide for my city
- cook and bake for my neighbors
- academic research
- open source software (and non-software) contributions
- pick up shifts at a café and make coffee, tea and smoothies for people
- pick up shifts to clean up public spaces, such as parks or my own neighborhood
- participate in more than one “professions”. I studied one type of engineering but work in a completely different engineering. This already proves I can do both, so why not do both and others?
Humans do not like the same thing over and over every day. It’s unnatural. But somehow we revolve our whole livelihood around if.
Let’s not be confused here. Specialization is what allows for free time. If everyone has to farm and hunt, that’s all you’d do. Specialization is a good thing for humanity and diverse institutions and industries to arise.
Yes, but if we only have to work on our specializations for 16 hours a week each instead of 40+, we would have a lot more time for other good stuff, whether it’s personal development, supporting other specialists, or just hanging out.
i’ve worked for 20h/w and 40h/w. i think 30/32 is a good balance
heres what wikipedia has to say:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_labour
historically it seems to have been beneficial… and led us to where we are currently.actually, hunter-gatherer communities ‘work’ significantly less time than we do in our corporate jobs. farming is a different story: here’s one study: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190520115646.htm
Produce documentaries, develop a video game
I’d do what I’m doing now but I’d be helping hospitals and schools instead of companies.
I feel the same about my job. I love what I do, I just wish it was targeted towards helping my community rather than generating profits for rich capitalists
What’s stopping you? Academia is in dire need of software/computer engineering researchers.
I am forced to pick one thing and one thing only, so I picked the thing that gives me the best balance (between pay, enjoyment, working conditions, mobility, etc) and academia wasn’t it. Notice how most of these factors are purely capitalistic
I would, in no certain order:
- Work at a coffee shop part time making coffee for people. Preferably a locally owned shop, but it wouldn’t matter too much if not.
- Work as a bartender similarly as above
- Potentially garden if I have the time and interest for it
- Create more YouTube videos
- Write, record, and release more music
- Learn to paint
- Get a film camera and take photos with it
- Contribute to FLOSS projects
- Finally make that D&D table that doubles as a dining table that I’ve been wanting to make for a few months now
- Actually follow through on learning my several languages I’m working on learning
- Become an interpreter (probably in ASL)
- Develop video games
- Create more art in general
- Do research on how art and society mingle together and interact
I’d still be a programmer. I’d work on open source projects 100% of the time. It’s something I love to do.
Man’s got to eat though. I still work in an area that makes the world slightly less shitty though, so it’s not all bad.
I get three days off a week and just got off of a 3 week long vacation and I slept a bunch lol. Played videogames. If I could never work again I’d just relax and enjoy food and entertainment.
I would sleep a lot more, that’s for sure.
If that’s capitalist society didn’t exist you’d spend your time hunting, gathering, farming band generally ensuring you had food on the table. You wouldn’t have time or energy to do those other things you dream of. And nor would anyone else.
No, I’d spend my time doing more or less what I said in my original post. Humanity has long moved past the reliance on hunting-gathering 200,000 years ago during the agricultural revolution (hint: it was far before capitalism). Technology today allows us to produce all humanity’s needs with the fraction of the labor we do now, or the labor we did in the past. None of this would go away if society oriented itself around its own needs and wants instead of capital.
I run a goth night once every other month.
I visit friends quite often whenever I want to.
I get up and start my day when I feel like it.
I play with code and build web toys.
I’m a freelance IT guy. I could, if I wanted to, earn a lot more than I do, but my time is worth more than money. It is possible to do, even in this world where everyone is told that you need a ‘career’ and to work for a company, although a lot more work is needed to freeing other careers from the obligation of the grind.
Don’t give up hope, unionise, demand respect,buy a guillotine,and keep an eye out for a way to get what you need and to contribute to society or your community without signing your life away.(Yes, some people will never get the opportunity. And that, frankly, pisses me off no end. But don’t lose hope until you’re dead.)
Your a freelance IT guy and you are suggesting to unionize? Your the guy companies use when they don’t want unions.
I don’t work for big companies, I support small businesses where a full-time IT guy doesn’t make sense, and old people who are struggling to get their internet working because their internet explorer icon disappeared. Additionally, if I was contacted by a company to cover them whilst their employees are striking, I’d turn them down.
I would cut cars in half and weld them into the other halves of other cars
Lenght or width wise?
You can do this right now, OP. If you don’t like living in a society just fuck off into the wilderness and do you. There are enormous swaths of land in this world where nobody will ever bother you. What’s stopping you?
Y’all check out the post history of this troll, absolute gold mine.
I’d have more time to become a better artist.
edit: what the fuck was that unwarranted shitty comment.
dont worry about that other commenter. They’re angry that their argument in another comment was argued against, and now they look stupid.
and still wouldn’t
So the question made you so angry, you started projecting your anger over people answering it? LOL
I would contribute to any activity that would ensure capitalism wouldn’t start existing.
It would be pretty difficult to bring back capitalism after its gone. It’s like someone trying to bring back feudalism today, beyond individual interactions.
I would offer people money to work for me.
And then i would help them optimize their brainspace to be more efficient at helping me.
I would allow them to use my workshop to create things that benefit the community. Like tools and Labor.
I would keep watch over the water and electrical lines and repair and service them if needed.
I would train people to do that for me and pay them.In a society oriented to our own interest and the interests of our community, no one would do work for you for money, especially since money would cease to exist.
In a society like you described money would be created. First as bartering and then eventually a form of money will start to exist.
The anthropology on the origins of money have shown that this is false. Money was introduced by force, and barter only occured in societies that previously had money then lost it (so, money-oriented societies). It is a myth that money creates itself. I’d love to refer you to resources if you’re interested on reading further (I have to dig them up from my notes).
There would not even be a need to create money. If your needs are already met, why would you still engage in exchanging already-abundant resources? Why would I give up my carrots to get your apples, when I can just go and pick some apples from the apple storage or a grocery store?
Because i would take all the apples. And the carrots. And if you wanted some you would have to barter with me. If you didn’t, then you would not have all your needs met.
Because people are not intrinsic good.
If you fail to take that into account then your idea is flawed.You really think an entire society revolved around bettering the human condition wouldn’t have guard rails against some random self destructive idiot going rogue?
In general though, no one has the motive to do that (except a self destructive idiot, who we’d just put in rehab and hope they get better).
Also you probably lack the means to take all the apples. The world already produces more than double the amount we consume. I guarantee you have no capacity to take them all.
I’m sorry, I know you thought that was really smart of you, but it’s not a good look.
my neighborhood has multiples of me. we are now a group.
Yeah sure. We cannot take all the apples out of cincinatti. But i can take all the apples from my town. Especially if i convice other people that are powerhungry like me. Narcisism and sociopathy exist, never forget that.
And on what grounds would you put me in rehab? Because i did what makes me feel good?
I take care of all the stuff nobody wants to do.
I clean the drains, i upkeep all the things you use for leisure.
People are lazy and would rather barter with me than to overthrow me. If they did, someone would have to wade through the shit all day.Kings and Queens did not have a real reason why they should be in power. They created their own reasons and used all their ressources to keep everyone down.
You surely have the Hollywood infested brain lmao
And on what grounds would you put me in rehab?
What about having terroristic aspirations? LOL. Trust me, no society will ever depend on you. You’ll always remain disposable
Hey, I would like the reasources you mentioned if it’s not too much hassle for you.
Below I linked an article that cites a couple of sources on this matter.
For a more in-depth reading, I’d highly recommend “Debt: The first 5000 years” by David Graeber. He has a ton of sources cited there too.
Article (12ft.io link to avoid paywall):
Thanks a lot, comrade!
Happy to help!! And great to meet you :)
Humans do not like the same thing over and over every day.
Speak for yourself, I like routine and being rewarded for working hard.
Do you really get rewarded for working hard? Every time I’ve gone above and beyond for my job it becomes and expectation with no increase in pay. There is no reward for us “no skill” jobs that somehow are the very foundation of this god forsaken societal system we uphold.
I’ve left jobs when I don’t get rewarded for hard work. Thankfully we live in a free market that allows me to also freely choose my employer and occupation.
freely choose my employer and occupation.
As long as you meet the dozens of credentials to work for a place, as well as the 5 to 10 hidden ones they don’t tell you about in the job listing or the interview.
That sounds salty.
Are you denying it’s reality?
No, I’m skeptical because it sounds more like disillusionment.
You don’t think that companies have dozens of credentials and requirements for a job? And hidden ones as well? This is very well documented. The first one is easily verified by looking at indeed.com. I take it you’ve never applied for a job before?
