Work, as in a job, is not an inherently bad thing. Enjoying your job doesn't make you a fool or a lackey or a tool in the machine.
Human beings are social animals. As such we have an innate desire to contribute that goes right back to our hunter-gatherer roots. We want to help. We want to feel as though we have value and serve a purpose. We want to feel like we are an asset and that our efforts enhance the welfare and survivability of our group.
There is a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes from doing a task. Being a hunter-gatherer was a job. You did basically the same things daily, but the benefits were tangible. If you found a patch of wild berries or brought down a deer there was no question that you had helped the group
If you work at McDonald's and enjoy your job, there's nothing wrong with that. Doing the best you can is not stupid nor does it make you a fool. If you enjoy the challenge of getting things done quickly and accurately that's a sign of good character, not the mark of a corporate toadie.
No honest job is shameful. Not until the social/corporate propaganda declares that certain jobs aren't "important" or deserving of dignity and fair pay. By diminishing respect for certain jobs, the workers doing those jobs are demeaned and dehumanized. The corporate propoganda says the person's worth is tied to just how much value they provide to the shareholder. The cultural propaganda, molded by the corrupt and unrestrained corporate capitalism declares low wage workers to be inferior and undeserving of dignity and a living wage.
A.I. is not beneficial nor a social panacea. Unlimited free time, which would certainly not come with a paycheck capable of giving you a life of ease, will create a desperation for recognition because you will have no true means of proving your worth. How do you validate yourself?
If there are a hundred million writers, singers, musicians, artists, what will make you different? You'll be just another pitch corrected voice. Another writer whose words are an unoriginal replication. The billionaires, the ones providing no benefit to society, they're the ones who have dictated the moral framework. Stating that they are superior and that the working poor are to blame for the social and systemic oubliette they reside in.
During the U.S. "worker shortage" following the Covid-19 pandemic I was at a truck stop that had a Taco Bell. There was one young man working there alone. Handling the counter, the dtive-thru window, and food preparation. I watched this young man dealing with six simultaneous orders. He laid things out quickly and efficiently and went through preparing all the orders simultaneously. His hands were constantly moving even as he checked the screen to see what he needed to be making. Clearly this young man saw it as a challenge to do his job quickly and accurately. I was deeply impressed with his skill and organizational ability.
Our mutant capitalism would declare this effort and dedication to be wasted. Such motivation isn't supposed to be applied to a lowly fast food job. Of course the company takes full advantage of workers like that. I have no doubt that this young man felt proud at the end of his shift. I also suspect that he didn't go home and tell his friends about how he rose to the challenge. This is capitalism. The size of your paycheck determines whether or not you can feel proud about your job.
Capitalism dictates what jobs are "good". If the only jobs available to you are fast food or retail jobs, you are a loser. Lazy. Unintelligent. You aren't allowed to expect respect or fair pay. The United States is a nation with trillions of dollars in consumer debt because that's how the wealthy ensure the working class MUST work. Make life unaffordable on two or even three incomes, all while the top one percent of the top one percent see their wealth balloon obscenely.
That's the gift capitalism gives us. Debt, dissatisfaction, despair and desparate dreams of somehow becoming like our masters.
vaporwave
kianamaiart
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