4 ms·

I don't really understand this mentality. At no point in human history, anywhere, has a life if easy idleness been a part of the deal. The way I see it there'

I don't really understand this mentality. At no point in human history, anywhere, has a life if easy idleness been a part of the deal. The way I see it there's two choices. You can either work in a comfortable society with food at the supermarket, water in your pipes, and a roof over your head, or you can work in a harsh society struggling against nature every single day for food, water, and shelter. Yes there are people in our society who basically don't work because they have so much money. It's unfair that some people have to labour physically while others can do nothing and claim the value of the people who work for them. Even if we did create a society where everyone could afford to be idle every day, someone would have to produce the food. Someone would have to mine the resources to produce the luxuries we enjoy. Someone would have to produce the luxuries... You see where I'm going. Idle, easy lives are not the baseline to compare against. They are the absolute ceiling of privilege.

glouwbug 4y ago
Never in history has a commoner lived better than any of the feudal kings. Your average work from home yuppie has access to a warm home, door dash, video games, and online dating; betterments no longer akin to that of a king in their castle with their serf'd up veggies, lamely jesters, and brothel mismanagement and inbreeding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKWNcs_20g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKWNcs_20g
- goodpoint 4y ago
  Absurd. Never in history the world had the wealth and technology that exists now. And yet your average work from home "yuppie" still has to work 40 hours a week doing SEO or fiddling with YAML to make some billionaire more rich. "door dash" does not give meaning to your life and ultimately you'll not be happy if you feel you live as a cog in an unnecessary company making an unnecessary product. And if that's not enough, feudal society was not destroying the planet. So no, having video games and online dating are not enough. But the technoptimism of HN seems to be an untreatable disease at this point.
  - glouwbug 4y ago
    Good point
  - bluefirebrand 4y ago
    > And yet your average work from home "yuppie" still has to work 40 hours a week doing SEO or fiddling with YAML to make some billionaire more rich. Again, the option to "not work" isn't real. That's an illusion you have been given. That 40 hours a week fixing YAML is not to make a billionaire richer (although it does), it's to have something that you can trade with people who produce your food. If you don't want to do the YAML, then grow the food yourself I guess? It will be a lot more than 40 hours a week and a lot harder work. > "door dash" does not give meaning to your life and ultimately you'll not be happy if you feel you live as a cog in an unnecessary company making an unnecessary product Idleness doesn't give meaning to your life either and ultimately you'll not be happy if you feel you've accomplished nothing in your life. Being freed from working a job does not mean you will suddenly do something important. If it is important you will find the time in and among your 40-hour workweeks, or you will take big risks by not having a job so you can start it. If you spend your weekends idle while working full time, you'll probably spend all of your time idle if you're unemployed. Seen this way too much to think otherwise. The people who are driven to do great things don't let employment stop them.

glouwbug 4y ago

Never in history has a commoner lived better than any of the feudal kings. Your average work from home yuppie has access to a warm home, door dash, video games, and online dating; betterments no longer akin to that of a king in their castle with their serf'd up veggies, lamely jesters, and brothel mismanagement and inbreeding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKWNcs_20g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKWNcs_20g

goodpoint 4y ago
Absurd. Never in history the world had the wealth and technology that exists now. And yet your average work from home "yuppie" still has to work 40 hours a week doing SEO or fiddling with YAML to make some billionaire more rich. "door dash" does not give meaning to your life and ultimately you'll not be happy if you feel you live as a cog in an unnecessary company making an unnecessary product. And if that's not enough, feudal society was not destroying the planet. So no, having video games and online dating are not enough. But the technoptimism of HN seems to be an untreatable disease at this point.
- glouwbug 4y ago
  Good point
- bluefirebrand 4y ago
  > And yet your average work from home "yuppie" still has to work 40 hours a week doing SEO or fiddling with YAML to make some billionaire more rich. Again, the option to "not work" isn't real. That's an illusion you have been given. That 40 hours a week fixing YAML is not to make a billionaire richer (although it does), it's to have something that you can trade with people who produce your food. If you don't want to do the YAML, then grow the food yourself I guess? It will be a lot more than 40 hours a week and a lot harder work. > "door dash" does not give meaning to your life and ultimately you'll not be happy if you feel you live as a cog in an unnecessary company making an unnecessary product Idleness doesn't give meaning to your life either and ultimately you'll not be happy if you feel you've accomplished nothing in your life. Being freed from working a job does not mean you will suddenly do something important. If it is important you will find the time in and among your 40-hour workweeks, or you will take big risks by not having a job so you can start it. If you spend your weekends idle while working full time, you'll probably spend all of your time idle if you're unemployed. Seen this way too much to think otherwise. The people who are driven to do great things don't let employment stop them.