Bullshit Jobs Aren’t the Problem — It’s that we must do them to survive
I love David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs.¹
It revealed that many people must do work they perceive as meaningless. And it brought into question the efficiency of our economic system, which has been, and still is, held triumphantly above our heads. Underlying the theory, however, is a deeper problem.
The problem isn’t the bullshit — it’s that we must do it to survive.
Bullshit jobs are fine if they are voluntary
Say there’s a universal basic income that covers a person’s needs, and that a person, called Bob, is one of its recipients.
Despite this, Bob accepts a job at Bullshit ‘R’ Us. His job is to walk around the office, look competent, and shake hands with potential clients.² It reeks of manure, but Bob really likes the job. He is both free and able to do something else — he could be sitting on the couch all day or do something worthwhile — yet this is what he chooses. Even though he works a bullshit job — there is no problem.
In other words, bullshit jobs aren’t a problem if people do them freely and voluntarily. They’re no different from sitting on your couch or otherwise wasting your time. People should be free and able to do so if they want.³
Consequently, the problem isn’t the bullshit itself — the problem lies elsewhere.
Bullshit jobs are a problem when people must do them to survive
The underlying problem has two core components: necessity, and free choices.
If a job is necessary, then there’s not much use in complaining⁴ — regardless how we feel about it, we must produce what we need.
But, beyond that, we should be free and able to do what we want. To the highest degree possible, no one should have to do something involuntarily. But, this is violated when someone must do the unnecessary to get what they need. They can’t do something else — even though they should be able to. If they try, then their health will be at risk — e.g. from starvation or homelessness.
This is when bullshit jobs become a problem — when they are not necessary yet people must do them to make ends meet. However, not all unnecessary jobs are bullshit — art being an example.⁵ Therefore, the problem extends beyond bullshit jobs — it extends to all jobs that are unnecessary.
The real problem is all the unnecessary jobs people must do to survive.
Footnotes
¹For Graeber’s book Bullshit Jobs, see [1].
²Similar jobs have been common in China, where Caucasians have been hired to purely for promotional purposes — sometimes referred to as White Monkeys.
³People should be free and able to do what they want as long as it doesn’t harm anyone or restricts anyone else’s freedom or ability to do the same.
⁴Assuming the person who does what’s necessary doesn’t have to do it more than necessary.
⁵Modern art being an exception.
Bibliography
[1] Graeber, David. Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. First Simon & Schuster ebook edition. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018.
