WOW! Essay from 1884 absolutely NAILS IT!!! - "Useful Work versus Useless Toil"

[drokhole]

This may be old to some, but it was new to me:

Useful Work versus Useless Toil
by William Morris

"The above title may strike some of my readers as strange. It is assumed by most people nowadays that all work is useful, and by most well-to-do people that all work is desirable. Most people, well-to-do or not, believe that, even when a man is doing work which appears to be useless, he is earning his livelihood by it - he is "employed," as the phrase goes; and most of those who are well-to-do cheer on the happy worker with congratulations and praises, if he is only "industrious" enough and deprives himself of all pleasure and holidays in the sacred cause of labour. In short, it has become an article of the creed of modern morality that all labour is good in itself - a convenient belief to those who live on the labour of others. But as to those on whom they live, I recommend them not to take it on trust, but to look into the matter a little deeper.

Let us grant, first, that the race of man must either labour or perish. Nature does not give us our livelihood gratis; we must win it by toil of some sort of degree. Let us see, then, if she does not give us some compensation for this compulsion to labour, since certainly in other matters she takes care to make the acts necessary to the continuance of life in the individual and the race not only endurable, but even pleasurable.
...
Now, the first thing as to the work done in civilization and the easiest to notice is that it is portioned out very unequally amongst the different classes of society. First, there are people - not a few - who do no work, and make no pretence of doing any. Next, there are people, and very many of them, who work fairly hard, though with abundant easements and holidays, claimed and allowed; and lastly, there are people who work so hard that they may be said to do nothing else than work, and are accordingly called "the working classes," as distinguished from the middle classes and the rich, or aristocracy, whom I have mentioned above.
...
Next there is the mass of people employed in making all those articles of folly and luxury, the demand for which is the outcome of the existence of the rich non-producing classes; things which people leading a manly and uncorrupted life would not ask for or dream of. These things, whoever may gainsay me, I will for ever refuse to call wealth: they are not wealth, but waste. Wealth is what Nature gives us and what a reasonable man can make out of the gifts of Nature for his reasonable use. The sunlight, the fresh air, the unspoiled face of the earth, food, raiment and housing necessary and decent; the storing up of knowledge of all kinds, and the power of disseminating it; means of free communication between man and man; works of art, the beauty which man creates when he is most a man, most aspiring and thoughtful - all things which serve the pleasure of people, free, manly, and uncorrupted. This is wealth. Nor can I think of anything worth having which does not come under one or other of these heads. But think, I beseech you, of the product of England, the workshop of the world, and will you not be bewildered, as I am, at the thought of the mass of things which no sane man could desire, but which our useless toil makes - and sells?"

-----

Just as relevant today (almost moreso) than back then. It's difficult to properly represent in four short/randomly selected paragraphs, and deserves to be read in full - it's a long read, but more than worth it.

Lost sight of in the incessant chant of "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" is a critical look at jobs themselves - and, at it's heart, the broken system a good deal of them artificially support. What, as Bucky Fuller said, is merely "some kind of drudgery"? How about jobs that are not only "drudgery," but whose product is quite literally (and severely) detrimental to the health of the public at large - like fast-food (and other processed food manufacturers)? Here, Morris offers not only an insightful commentary on just that, but an incredibly comprehensive take on the entire situation at hand. He even details his thoughts on a more pragmatic system (which actually brought to mind a system reminiscent of Pala in Aldous Huxley's Island - another highly recommended read). Most important is his humble approach, being careful to stress that any system (even his proposal) can't be artificially superimposed on man, and that it would, and should, continue to be a work-in-progress (reminded me of Jiddu Krishnamurti's approach to life). That being said, it's clear he believes this to be a giant step in the right direction.

Regardless of the thoughts you might have going in (especially because of my piss-poor set-up), read it - you'll discover that many questions you might have (pre-formed and during) are not only addressed, but answered fairly thoroughly. For instance, here's an interesting bit:

"Socialists are often asked how work of the rougher and more repulsive kind could be carried out in the new condition of things. To attempt to answer such questions fully or authoritatively would be attempting the impossibility of constructing a scheme of a new society out of the materials of the old, before we knew which of those materials would disappear and which endure through the evolution which is leading us to the great change. Yet it is not difficult to conceive of some arrangement whereby those who did the roughest work should work for the shortest spells. And again, what is said above of the variety of work applies specially here. Once more I say, that for a man to be the whole of his life hopelessly engaged in performing one repulsive and never-ending task, is an arrangement fit enough for the hell imagined by theologians, but scarcely fit for any other form of society. Lastly, if this rougher work were of any special kind, we may suppose that special volunteers would be called on to perform it, who would surely be forthcoming, unless men in a state of freedom should lose the sparks of manliness which they possessed as slaves.

And yet if there be any work which cannot be made other than repulsive, either by the shortness of its duration or the intermittency of its recurrence, or by the sense of special and peculiar usefulness (and therefore honour) in the mind of the man who performs it freely - if there be any work which cannot be but a torment to the worker, what then? Well, then, let us see if the heavens will fall on us if we leave it undone, for it were better that they should. The produce of such work cannot be worth the price of it."

And this approach that challenges the notion of a singular career (something referenced in the above quote, and directly in common with Huxley's Island):

"Variety of work is the next point, and a most important one. To compel a man to do day after day the same task, without any hope of escape or change, means nothing short of turning his life into a prison-torment. Nothing but the tyranny of profit-grinding makes this necessary. A man might easily learn and practise at least three crafts, varying sedentary occupation with outdoor - occupation calling for the exercise of strong bodily energy for work in which the mind had more to do..."

So, please, give it a read - if nothing else, it gives you something to contemplate. Because, in my opinion, while "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" makes for a great soundbite, it only attempts to salvage the deteriorating foundation that got us here in the first place:

"Civilization therefore wastes its own resources, and will do so as long as the present system lasts. These are cold words with which to describe the tyranny under which we suffer; try then to consider what they mean."

[snagglepuss]

1. to read later

[tech5270]

2. Nice post

It's well worth the read. Sad to see no other responses.

[drokhole]

11. Thanks!

Looks like they're coming in, but I'm happy as long as people read it and give it some thought. It does, however, remind me of a quote from William Blake:

"Those who criticize this or that detail of a system are more likely to be heard than those who challenge its premises."

[raouldukelives]

3. K&R

This goes along well with the protests on Wall St. The epitome of waste and driver of global slavery which many couldn't be happier to support.

[drokhole]

12. I think so too.

And I think it's even more important that we, and the brave protesters on Wall Street (and around the world), think this deeply when considering where we want these actions to lead. Jiddu Krishnamurti had this to say:

"Revolt is of two kinds: there is violent revolt, which is mere reaction, without understanding, against the existing order; and there is the deep psychological revolt of intelligence. There are many who revolt against the established orthodoxies only to fall into a new orthodoxies, further illusions and concealed self-indulgences. What generally happens is that we break away from one group or set of ideals and join another group, take up other ideals, thus creating a new pattern of thought against which we will again have to revolt. Reaction only breeds opposition, and reform needs further reform."
...
Against this regimentation, many are revolting. But unfortunately their revolt is mere self-seeking reaction, which only further darkens our existence."

Which is why I think this article (along with the sentiments in Krishnamurti's works) is a step towards something that's legitimately different, and almost required for contemplation along with the spirit of revolt. That goes for Huxley's Island - which, while fictional, is an incredibly detailed and more pragmatic version of how modern society could operate. And it all starts with "awakening Intelligence."

[Sherman A1]

4. Interesting

[cali]

5. You do realize that Morris himself spent much of his career producing

"articles of luxury". I'd never call them folly, because I think much of his work was remarkably beautiful, but still....

And kind of easy for him to say- his family's fortune came from copper and arsenic mines.

[starroute]

8. However, the Arts and Crafts Movement was an ancestor of today's Maker Movement

It's a nasty paradox of our society that beautiful and well-made things tend to be a luxury of the rich, while the poor are left to make do with ugly, mass-produced stuff. I suspect this may be intrinsic to any class-based society, in which case solving it might help point the way out of our present unhappy state of barely-acknowledged class warfare.

Morris and the other founders of the Arts and Crafts Movement were trying to address it in their own somewhat limited way -- and without much success -- but I think the underlying intention remains relevant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_Crafts_Movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 (especially the second half of that period), continuing its influence until the 1930s. Instigated by the artist and writer William Morris (1834–1896) during the 1860s and inspired by the writings of John Ruskin (1819–1900), it had its earliest and most complete development in the British Isles but spread to Europe and North America. It was largely a reaction against the impoverished state of the decorative arts and the conditions by which they were produced.

The philosophy was an advocacy of traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often medieval, romantic or folk styles of decoration. It also included advocacy of economic and social reform and has been considered as essentially anti-industrial. . . .

Morris's ideas spread during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and resulted in the establishment of many associations and craft communities, although Morris himself was not involved with them because of his preoccupation with socialism. A hundred and thirty Arts and Crafts organizations were formed in Britain, most of them between 1895 and 1905


http://mghiemstra.com/column/learning-from-william-morris

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” It’s a quote that should cause a maker to stop and think. When your hands touch the raw materials that will become your next project, will they be assembling a new type of tool, a time saving device, something that is outstandingly marvelous to look at?

The quote is attributed to William Morris, one of the founders of the English Arts and Crafts Movement in the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s. This movement of the decorative arts, or interior design if you will, was born out of the reaction against the industrial revolution and the growing lack of artistic decoration in the home within English society. The movement gave birth to many guilds and societies, many with an eye to preserving and producing arts and goods that spoke to quality and beauty instead of mass production and standardization. . . .

So, how can modern day makers take their queue from Morris, a key member from a movement that occurred a hundred years ago?

Firstly, stay calm and make something. Don’t fall victim to our consumeristic society. If you need something, try to make it yourself. And if you can’t make it yourself, look for someone who can, then support them with your cash.

[drokhole]

10. Woah, well put!

And thanks for the interesting info (and for addressing the matter more deftly than I could have)! Even within the context of the article, Morris never said all art was unequivocally an "article of luxury" - as made clear by his emphasis of the fact that he considered certain Art as vital to man's "wealth":

"...works of art, the beauty which man creates when he is most a man, most aspiring and thoughtful - all things which serve the pleasure of people, free, manly, and uncorrupted. This is wealth."

He even talked of Art's ability to increase the enjoyment of life/the workplace:

"We must begin to build up the ornamental part of life - its pleasure, bodily and mental, scientific and artistic, social and individual - on the basis of work undertaken willingly and cheerfully, with the consciousness of benefiting ourselves and our neighbours by it. Such absolutely necessary work as we should have to do would in the first place take up but a small part of each day, and so far would not be burdensome; but it would be a task of daily recurrence, and therefore would spoil our day's pleasure unless it were made at least endurable while it lasted. In other words, all labour, even the commonest, must be made attractive.
...
Besides the short duration of labour, its conscious usefulness, and the variety which should go with it, there is another thing needed to make it attractive, and that is pleasant surroundings."

And, like your post addressed, he made sure to point out the differences he saw in "art":

"Under this head of variety I will note one product of industry which has suffered so much from commercialism that it can scarcely be said to exist, and is, indeed, so foreign from our epoch that I fear there are some who will find it difficult to understand what I have to say on the subject, which I nevertheless must say, since it is really a most important one. I mean that side of art which is, or ought to be, done by the ordinary workman while he is about his ordinary work, and which has got to be called, very properly, Popular Art. This art, I repeat, no longer exists now, having been killed by commercialism...The craftsman, as he fashioned the thing he had under his hand, ornamented it so naturally and so entirely without conscious effort, that it is often difficult to distinguish where the mere utilitarian part of his work ended and the ornamental began. Now the origin of this art was the necessity that the workman felt for variety in his work, and though the beauty produced by this desire was a great gift to the world, yet the obtaining variety and pleasure in the work by the workman was a matter of more importance still, for it stamped all labour with the impress of pleasure. All this has now quite disappeared from the work of civilization. If you wish to have ornament, you must pay specially for it, and the workman is compelled to produce ornament, as he is to produce other wares. He is compelled to pretend happiness in his work, so that the beauty produced by man's hand, which was once a solace to his labour, has now become an extra burden to him, and ornament is now but one of the follies of useless toil, and perhaps not the least irksome of its fetters."

Here, the value isn't only in the art itself, but the process of creation/labor.

All this also reminds me of a (much stronger) position William Blake (who languished in poverty most his life, so I guess that would make him more credible) took on the matter:

"Where any view of Money exists, Art cannot be carried on."

A fairly extreme position, for sure (and not even his most insightful on the matter), but the basic sentiment seems to have been widely shared.

[eilen]

28. Ruskin and E.F. Schumacher

"Ruskin and Schumacher, saw a growing divergence between the multiplication of goods and money, vs. improvements in the real wealth that includes happiness, human relations, and preservation of a healthy natural environment. E F Schumacher Society and New Economics Foundation, as the founding organizations for the New Economics Institute, draw their message from the tradition that critiques conventional economic theory insofar as it pursues only the intermediate goal of financial growth, ignoring the larger human goals."

"..Growth in GNP does not equal growth in real wealth and welfare." (sic)

http://neweconomicsinstitute.org/content/briefing-new-economics-institute

[drokhole]

30. The distinction between financial wealth and human wealth is rarely made...

...but important to recognize. And financial wealth, for that matter, is generally inflated with clever accounting and products with planned obsolescence. Never understood the logic behind the myopic importance of "percentage growth" for a given quarter (especially since the idea of unfettered growth is doomed to fail). Thanks for the interesting link!

[txlibdem]

16. FDR was of the "monied" class yet he made great strides for the poor and workers

Unfortunately, his remedy simply gave new life to Capitalism. Perhaps we need to seek a new remedy, one that brings us to the social justice that should be every human's birthright.

[TBF]

23. The rich understand class warfare. nt

[Shandris]

6. Nice find, and very thought-provoking.

Truthfully, how many times does the concept of having multiple crafts come across as possible? Even in today's high-tech fields, there is SO MUCH in any singular field that it is literally impossible to know EVERYTHING...but once you've learned something and grasped the basic skill-set, there's nothing to prevent you from learning about wholly different things. Normally these are side-pursuits (because they earn no one any profit!) called 'hobbies', and are looked down upon relative to your 'career', and there is no lack of certainty as to which is expected to be most important to 'an adult'.

I often see around me, though, the way 'reality' grinds people down, and how afraid they are to express anything of creativity and/or individuality. I'm not talking about 'art' per se, but...just anything. How many generations of potentially useful enlightenment have we tossed aside in the pursuit of the ever-increasing (until the snake begins to eat its' own tail, as it is nearing) profit margins?

+1 and rec'ced.

[starroute]

7. We could learn a great deal from the Victorians

For one thing, they were thinking seriously about how to deal with some of the problems of modern life that we have come to take so much for granted that we no longer regard them as needing solutions.

For another, they had high utopian expectations of the future which we have lost, to the extent that even when we become aware that we have crushing social problem, we tend to regard them as insoluble.

Because all this work is out of copyright, it can and should be made more generally available. I know it's probably out there in Project Gutenberg, but nobody (including me) knows what's still good and relevant. It's a dream of mine to see the best of this stuff revived and made part of the ongoing discourse.

Henry George, for example, is somebody I suspect is deserving of careful attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_George

Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land. He inspired the economic philosophy known as Georgism, whose main tenet is that people should own what they create, but that everything found in nature, most importantly land, belongs equally to all humanity. His most famous work, Progress and Poverty (1879), is a treatise on inequality, the cyclic nature of industrial economies, and the use of the land value tax as a possible remedy.

[radhika]

9. The Industrial Era has deified 'Work' in a way...

that is segregated from the utility value of a person producing food, clothing, shelter and even creative goods such as art, music and literature. Now, any individual in the modern era must obtain money/cash to function. Unless s/he has a wealthy mate or family, that person must WORK - doing something that gets him/her money. That 'something' could be producing thoroughly useless or dangerous goods. Or doing menial tasks that require little skill or offer little personal fulfillment.

To get some sort of check, a worker is often producing idiot goods. At least in the Depression, many families and communities had truck farms and raised animals. Now, even for a McBite a person needs $$ - and is dependent on the needs of industry to hire.

The new artisanal era is a step towards Morris' vision. A good one. I'd like to see more co-ops open up, serving regional populations. I'd like to a new economy where it is OK to relax and enjoy your family, friends. Produce what is necessary to live amply and graciously, and opas long as these needs are met, relax.

[drokhole]

35. Great word for it...

...the abstract is exalted and praised, but the actual is hardly given any critical thought. And +1000 for the rest of your post!

[donheld]

13. k & R

[GrannyK]

14. Thank you!

A well thought out and interesting piece.

[hfojvt]

15. I always liked William Morris

You mentioned Huxley's book. Morris also wrote a utopian novel - News from Nowhere http://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-Other-Writings-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140433309/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316326987&sr=1-1

which was his response to Bellamy's "Looking Backward" - http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Backward-2000-Edward-Bellamy/dp/1456506730/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316327124&sr=1-1

Although that one used to be available from Dover books for a mere $2. http://doverpublications.ecomm-search.com/search?keywords=bellamy

up to $3.5 now, I see.

Another one with interesting ideas of work and society was Charles Fourier http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture21a.html

[drokhole]

19. Thanks for the heads up!

I look forward to checking them out.

[eilen]

17. This is among my reading now, thank you

along with almost any essay by Wendell Berry, Schumacher, and some of the ideas of distributism (minus the religiiousity) as well as the transition town movement.

That Labor could be considered a means to an end, rather than just the end. Meaningful work, work that helps to sustain your family in direct economy, feed the souls of your community in craft and skill; work by design with the natural properties of one's land, fauna and climate buffers and protects the community from the vicissitudes of nature, the fickleness of business, the relentless scavenging of exploitable unspoiled resources by industry-- that is the Labor under which we should be employed. Such labors and work would give us security not just for this week but for the coming years. This is a long sighted view, not given to profitable quarters thus one that the private sector will eschew and government will ignore (nay, penalize). It is up to us in our local communities to make our priorities and plan our survival going forward.

Yes, we do need "jobs" but jobs with purpose and future. Jobs that can not only sustain us but jobs that evolve. Don't be fooled that jobs don't already exist at every level of skill and talent. They exist yet do not pay. They exist yet no one sees the benefit of their employ. They are all sitting there, waiting for those of vision to communicate their necessity. Sadly, there has been no strong voice. There has been no overall picture of how this other model is put together. We have the parts but not the diagram.

It seems to me that everyone has a piece of it but is at odds with others. The people that want small government because they feel that large government is blind to their needs and desires while attendent upon those of wealth and undue influence. Those that feel under yoke of mandates from above and see that as a loss of liberty. The people who want social justice, relief for the struggling poor and health care available to all who need it without age or income based formulas. Those who feel that the society has no place for them anymore because of age or disability. Those who feel restriction on their ability to generate income and industry. Those who are locked out of the everyday rights and responsibilities as citizens because of their place of birth or sexual orientation. Places in which the independence and flexibility needed for their institutions are optioned out by private companies, government, Labor or all three.

We look at these issues through our own colored lenses, seeing what we want to see, calling each other names. Meanwhile we get nowhere but frustrated and have two reactions-- either clinging to a side that no longer truly serves people (what is available now) or throwing up ones hands and walking away from the hard solutions entirely (as seen in 2010, and I'm sure in 2012). The fact is our institutions are failing us. Ever larger and more powerful corporations are screwing us with the help of our government. No laws are passed with the priorities of humans and communities first and prominent; nay, they are passed for the benefit of banks, military contractors, corporations. The underlying for all medicine is "First do no harm" because it is a field serving and aiding human beings. Our national culture, civilization and ethical integrity is on life support and all our leaders/fixers can do is bicker about who to pay the bill. We need the hands of life but the people we have elected insist they must be invisible hands. I think we need actual real hands, after all, what are people for?

[drokhole]

18. Powerful stuff!

:applause: :applause: :applause:

Great points, all around. How we, not necessarily deliberately, tend to process a situation through our own projections and singular perspective (and often times believe it to be objective...author Robert Anton Wilson outlined the phenomenon in great detail in his book Prometheus Rising with his concept of "reality tunnels"). How we attempt to "conquer" nature at every turn (and the very fact that we have it in our mind as a possibility). That particularly reminded me of Alan Watts, who'd often point out how we work against nature - attempting to pummel and subjugate it at every turn - rather than with nature, the landscape, and its flow (Watts also had an interesting perspective on work - Work as Play - which I think, in a way, fits here). And, if you haven't read it yet, I think you'd find that Huxley novel I mentioned to mirror most of your sentiments.

Thanks again for your insight, you put my commentary to shame!

[eilen]

29. I thank you for starting this thread

these are the kind of discussions I have been missing here.

[w0nderer]

20. k&r for reading later n/t

[desertrat777]

21. William Morris and the meaning of work relationships

Your post reminded me of a cartoon a good friend of mine framed and sent me in the mail once. On one side of the cartoon, a man in a suit and tie bent over a mass of papers on a desk, his brow furrowed with concentration, and a clock on the wall behind him. He did not appear to be enjoying himself. On the other side of the cartoon was another man, wearing simple clothing, maybe even a little ragged, with a bottle of wine in his hand. This man was relaxing under a palm tree on a beach by the ocean. The caption beneath these two men was the simple phrase, which harkens back to William Morris's words. The caption read, "Productive and wasted lives." Which man was leading the productive life? Which man's life had been wasted?

William Morris was a writer and translator in Great Britain in the 1800s. He founded the Socialist League in 1884. The material you quoted was a succinct and brief analysis of part of the foundation of the System that now attempts to control the entire planet, and is the result of broken relationships. In other words, the result of Divide and Conquer.

It is only natural that one be in wholesome relationship with self, others, and the world. What we are offered in the way of employment does not take this vital part of our experience as humans into account.

[drokhole]

24. Yep, the current set-up fails at the "actualization, for being turned into full-blown human beings"

...and is actively structured against it (the above quote was borrowed from Huxley's novel - it was the ultimate aim of the island of Pala). "Wholesome" is a good word for it, because it really requires a more holistic consideration of everything - including our relationship with ourselves, others, and the world of nature, and a recognition of how incredibly interrelated it all is. Which means, in practice, that we must keep those relationships in mind if we expect any type of major reform, because, as Huxley's novel also astutely expressed:

"Nothing short of everything will do."

(and thanks for sharing your story :hi:)

[Lorien]

22. One of my favorite artists, too

he wrote "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." Good words to live by.

From his version of the Canterbury Tales. I have this book and every page is a work of art:



http://library.rit.edu/cary/cc_db/19th_century/16.html

[drokhole]

25. Beautiful!

Both the artwork and the sentiments, thanks!

[davidwparker]

26. K&R

... for the quote in your title alone

[Honeycombe8]

27. Translation?: Get over your fixation w Iphone & gadgets & clothes. Get back to nature.

Quit trying to collect "things," esp. by borrowing the money from a credit card for things you cannot afford.

Instead of automatically going to work at the local factory, find some work that is fullfilling, even though it pays less, as long as the hours are decent. You may not be able to afford an Iphone or laptop, but plant a tree in your backyard, and spend your time there...with your family and dog.

Unfortunately, not many people these days, in America, live by these standards, even though many could. Including me (well, I don't have a fixation for "things," but I do feel compelled to work, work, work and save, save, save...a fear of homelessness, since I have no family to fall back on, in case something would happen).

[Tansy_Gold]

31. As an admirer of William Morris for almost 50 years

I am delighted to see his name appear on DU.

Virtually all his writings are available at www.marxists.org. Some may be a bit awkward for those accustomed to drive-by posts, emoticons, and tweets, but well worth the investment in time and effort.

One really has to wonder what a difference he might have made had he not died at the young age of 62.



Tansy Gold, who turns 63 next month

[drokhole]

34. Thanks for the info, I'll have to do some exploring!

Actually saw that News from Nowhere was on there, which someone in this thread recommended and I've since been looking forward to checking out. Your other observations are on point. And, my god, you must have been one sophisticated 13-year-old!

Have a happy birthday!:party: :hi:

[Recursion]

32. "Are jobs obsolete?"

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-07/opinion/rushkoff.jobs.obsolete_1_toll-collectors-robots-jobs?_s=PM:OPINION

There's no particular need for everybody to work even most of the time, but as a culture we can't quite wrap our heads around the fact that you don't need to do anything to "deserve" food and shelter.

[drokhole]

33. Reminds me of Bucky Fuller's full(er) quote...

"We must 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." - New York Magazine (March 1970)


And that need for fundamental re-examination/alteration reflects this one from Jiddu Krishnamurti:

"We want to do patchwork reform, which only leads to problems of still further reform. We do not want to strip away all our false values and begin anew. But the building is crumbling, the walls are giving away, and fire is destroying it. We must leave the building and start on new ground, with different foundations, different values." - Education and the Significance of Life

[Odin2005]

36. I've never heard of this guy before, thanks!

[drokhole]

37. My pleasure! This article was the first I heard of him, too.

Have since been reading up on him and checking out his gorgeous artwork.

Nice to see ya, Odin2005! :hi: