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This may be unpopular, but maybe there’s something to be said for devaluing money and hard work? “Hard Work” is an inherited ethic from Puritanism in the wester

This may be unpopular, but maybe there’s something to be said for devaluing money and hard work? “Hard Work” is an inherited ethic from Puritanism in the western world. It is often implied that hard work will reap benefits, but the benefits are hit or miss and the rewards are sometimes promised salvation or riches in an afterlife. While I won’t comment on the latter, I think the ethic of hard work is often oversold, and benefits those in power rather than those who issue the effort. And before someone cries wolf here, this isn’t advocating for laziness or hedonism. I think humans need work. We need to put effort into something whether that’s tilling a field, painting a canvas, or writing a program for a computer. I think everybody needs to experience real challenges to their understanding of life and how other people live. But I don’t think there’s an obvious measuring stick for what that looks like. As for devaluing money, people need to know how to manage a household, but I think fewer worshippers at the alter of money is a net win.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
sparrish 3y ago
I was told growing up the measure of good work is that you produce more than you consume. That's how families and communities grow and prosper. If you consume more than you produce, you're a drain on your family and community and that's looked down on. Maybe that is Puritan but my own observations have reinforced that and I think if everyone strived for it, our world would be a better place to live.
- wahnfrieden 3y ago
  productivity above all else for every human is pretty disastrous and unappealing. and when that hard work mostly goes toward the profit of some man?
  - sparrish 3y ago
    A mindset of producing more than you consume has taken western cultures to where they are now - less poverty and more abundance than ever before in human history. We live freer and eat better and live longer than any of our ancestors. Why do you see it as "disastrous and unappealing"? What's the alternative? If everyone consumes more than they produce, we all end up in poverty and hunger. That sounds truly disastrous and unappealing. Most of that hard work goes to the profit of the one doing the work. History shows that arch clearly. Not many surfs or feudal lords about anymore. Your children aren't properly of your owner because you have no owner. Don't buy into the "inequality" BS that's being pushed about. It's not to the benefit of you or the generations that come after you.
    - wahnfrieden 3y ago
      you have a mythologized and outdated understanding of history https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36276100 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36276100 we may not have literal serfs (well, we do still) but hierarchical command under threat of violence is alive and kicking

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

sparrish 3y ago

I was told growing up the measure of good work is that you produce more than you consume. That's how families and communities grow and prosper. If you consume more than you produce, you're a drain on your family and community and that's looked down on. Maybe that is Puritan but my own observations have reinforced that and I think if everyone strived for it, our world would be a better place to live.

wahnfrieden 3y ago
productivity above all else for every human is pretty disastrous and unappealing. and when that hard work mostly goes toward the profit of some man?
- sparrish 3y ago
  A mindset of producing more than you consume has taken western cultures to where they are now - less poverty and more abundance than ever before in human history. We live freer and eat better and live longer than any of our ancestors. Why do you see it as "disastrous and unappealing"? What's the alternative? If everyone consumes more than they produce, we all end up in poverty and hunger. That sounds truly disastrous and unappealing. Most of that hard work goes to the profit of the one doing the work. History shows that arch clearly. Not many surfs or feudal lords about anymore. Your children aren't properly of your owner because you have no owner. Don't buy into the "inequality" BS that's being pushed about. It's not to the benefit of you or the generations that come after you.
  - wahnfrieden 3y ago
    you have a mythologized and outdated understanding of history https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36276100 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36276100 we may not have literal serfs (well, we do still) but hierarchical command under threat of violence is alive and kicking