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we somehow hate leisure We don't hate leisure. Everyone loves their leisure. What we hate is each other. Unless people are able to accept someone else getting
by onion2k 2y ago
we somehow hate leisure
We don't hate leisure. Everyone loves their leisure. What we hate is each other. Unless people are able to accept someone else getting a free ride (even when they're not getting one themselves), some form of ever-increasingly pointless work will be required, because that's how we define whether or not someone has 'earned' their leisure.
- Joeboy 2y agoI think what bothers people is the idea of having to work to pay for somebody else's leisure. Obviously lots of arguments to be had about the specifics of that, but I think it's more about this than a moralistic concern about "unearned" leisure. Nobody minds much if somebody wins the lottery and lives a frugal and leisurely life on the proceeds.
- apercu 2y agoBut that’s the current system. We all work so that 0.001% of the population can hoard wealth, influence our laws and control the media.
- Joeboy 2y agoMy first draft had examples of what "working to pay for somebody else's leisure" means for different people, but I thought it better to omit specifics in favour of the general point.
- pembrook 2y agoThat's not remotely true. You forget the default state of humanity is fighting off starvation running naked in the dirt. The average net profit rate of all business in the US is 7%. To think you’re not a primary beneficiary in such a system is just silly.
- kubb 2y agoI see your point, but it feels like you're engaging in a broader defense of the system rather than directly adressing apercu's concern about wealth concentration and elite influence.