Bullshit Jobs: A Theory
If someone had designed a work regime perfectly suited to maintaining the power of finance capital, it’s hard to see how he or she could have done a better job. Real, productive workers are relentlessly squeezed and exploited. The remainder are divided between a terrorized stratum of the universally reviled unemployed and a larger stratum who are basically paid to do nothing, in positions designed to make them identify with the perspectives and sensibilities of the ruling class (managers, administrators, etc.)—and particularly its financial avatars—but, at the same time, foster a simmering resentment against anyone whose work has clear and undeniable social value.
It was truly a wonderful surprise just how good Bullshit Jobs turned out to be. I thought this book was going to be a simple, fun little exploration into the drudgery of those everyday jobs that feel pointless. But it was much more than that. David Graeber really dug in on the history of pointless jobs, the human toll they take, and the societal/political implications of removing them.
David broke the types of Bullshit Jobs into five sub-categorizations—interesting in itself—but the comparison to feudal times was what really resonated with me. The role in leadership being rewarded for growing their organizations above all else (into little kingdoms!) matched with what I’ve observed in life:
If the organization grows in size, higher-ups’ importance will almost invariably be measured by the total number of employees working under them, which, in turn, creates an even more powerful incentive for those on top of the organizational ladder to either hire employees and only then decide what they are going to do with them or—even more often, perhaps—to resist any efforts to eliminate jobs that are found to be redundant.
I might have this book tagged “Sociology” but in reality it’s more “Anthropology”. The stories and interviews that David did with a number of people who consider their jobs to be bullshit was particularly interesting.
Near the end of the book, David starts imagining solutions to this. David suggests UBI as one way to solve this issue. Why would someone work a bullshit job if they already were paid to do something more fulfilling?
Overall, this book was almost five stars for me. But it is a very solid four and I’d recommend it to practically anyone.
