Fairly certain that most people would disagree with "any work that puts food on the table is work with purpose and dignity." Easy examples come to mind: prostit

Fairly certain that most people would disagree with "any work that puts food on the table is work with purpose and dignity." Easy examples come to mind: prostitution, arms dealing, etc. The thing about usefulness to society is that we just don't need everyone to be useful anymore. Society will continue on perfectly fine even if half of the population contributes nothing at all, because of technology. The future is not so far away anymore, and societal change is very slow. These are the kind of questions we need to be thinking about now.