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>Trying to hold on to worthless jobs is a terrible but popular idea. It seems warm and fuzzy to think Sam, and the implicit company he keeps (the ultra rich)--

by YAYERKA 12y ago

>Trying to hold on to worthless jobs is a terrible but popular idea. It seems warm and fuzzy to think Sam, and the implicit company he keeps (the ultra rich)--who are "leveraging not only their abilities and luck" but already accrued wealth--can and will redistribute it. Anyone who wasn't born yesterday will simply laugh at this prospect. I'm not sure why Sam feels the need to call what most of the world is doing worthless. I think it's crude and indicative of a narrow social and cultural experience (which surprises me considering his position). Believe it or not, there are cultures and groups of people who do not revere technology the way most North Americans do. Also, a good exercise for Sam (and others possessing a similar world view) might be to think about how many "worthless" people and jobs it takes to accomplish the things he does (including this blog post).

quaunaut 12y ago
The problem I take with this mindset, is that it treats all value systems as equal. At the end of the day, if your culture and economic system create a poorer quality of life for its people consistently, just because it wins out in the percentage of employed citizens doesn't mean a thing. You're treating the lack of disease as a measuring stick of health, when it's simply one piece of the puzzle. I think the thing Sam has been trying to do for the last few years, is get others to think about the ways we can enrich more lives as a whole, without just slowing labor and progress in its totality- because while that can work for the short term, it can severely inhibit us in the long term to eradicate things like hunger, disease, or poverty. The thing you also need to be careful of along the way though, is not making perfect the enemy of good.
scobar 12y ago
Unfortunately, many societies today incorporate too strongly one's official profession/title with self-worth. I don't believe sama was implying those who work those jobs are worthless. Instead, it seems like he's trying to say that there are far better ways to accomplish the same objective, and we shouldn't ignore them. Because our systems of retraining and placing workers into a new profession are so terrible, it's common to assume that many or most displaced workers will remain unemployed. Breaking this status quo is essential to giving everyone a fair chance to work on what truly drives them while we automate more and more worthless jobs. That's why I'm so excited about free and widely available educational resources springing up online. It's not perfect yet, but we had to start somewhere. I have a deep respect for everyone (including sama) who've helped build or teach a mooc.

by YAYERKA 12y ago

quaunaut 12y ago

The problem I take with this mindset, is that it treats all value systems as equal. At the end of the day, if your culture and economic system create a poorer quality of life for its people consistently, just because it wins out in the percentage of employed citizens doesn't mean a thing. You're treating the lack of disease as a measuring stick of health, when it's simply one piece of the puzzle. I think the thing Sam has been trying to do for the last few years, is get others to think about the ways we can enrich more lives as a whole, without just slowing labor and progress in its totality- because while that can work for the short term, it can severely inhibit us in the long term to eradicate things like hunger, disease, or poverty. The thing you also need to be careful of along the way though, is not making perfect the enemy of good.

scobar 12y ago

Unfortunately, many societies today incorporate too strongly one's official profession/title with self-worth. I don't believe sama was implying those who work those jobs are worthless. Instead, it seems like he's trying to say that there are far better ways to accomplish the same objective, and we shouldn't ignore them. Because our systems of retraining and placing workers into a new profession are so terrible, it's common to assume that many or most displaced workers will remain unemployed. Breaking this status quo is essential to giving everyone a fair chance to work on what truly drives them while we automate more and more worthless jobs. That's why I'm so excited about free and widely available educational resources springing up online. It's not perfect yet, but we had to start somewhere. I have a deep respect for everyone (including sama) who've helped build or teach a mooc.