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As Bob Black pointed out in The Abolition of Work, if a job is worth doing, someone would do it, whether or not they got paid to do it. Charlie Stross made that
by beat 13y ago
As Bob Black pointed out in The Abolition of Work, if a job is worth doing, someone would do it, whether or not they got paid to do it. Charlie Stross made that point in his essay - he'd continue to be a writer even if he didn't need to write for a living.
The same is true of doctors. And farmers. And firemen.
- tomp 13y agoThere's quite a bit of a difference between being a writer, and being a surgeon/emergency doctor/fireman. Writer's don't work 12 hour shifts, don't do physically hard work, and aren't killed by their jobs.
- ctdonath 13y agoI contend a core persistent failing of FOSS is proof that premise is not true. There is somewhere around 5% of any project which must be done, but which nobody wants to do because it's hard/dirty work which produces little (but not zero or negative) benefit, is not interesting, few if any will appreciate (or even notice) it, but without which there will be a persistent stumbling block. Sure, writers & doctors & farmers & firemen might do their stereotypical work for free because that's just what they do. But what about street cleaners & trash haulers? janitors for public housing? high-risk divers for floating oil rigs? Are you going to regularly clean, for free, elevators that low-end public-housing occupants piss in daily? pick up trash on the street, dumped there faster than you can clean up by bored teens who know they'll never have to do anything because their GBI cards will always get them food & pay the rent, and who are amused by your frustration at their persistent destructiveness?