Oh, but if we valued janitors and teachers more, everyone would want to be one!…said nobody ever. Maybe the bathrooms would look and smell like they were valued more if we truly valued the work it takes to keep them clean and functioning, and if the workers who do it also felt valued and could see their contributions appreciated.
It seems counterintuitive to consider that one day, we’ll have to similarly value those who don’t compete for work, as technology seeks to replace the workers for the sake of efficiency. The truth is that undervaluing the laborers who will build such machinery will lead to developments that reflect that undervaluing (consider the Cybertruck). If such a machine were to threaten the very existence or means of subsistence for those workers, it also stands to reason that some will want to, subtly or otherwise, rage against it.
I keep returning to the notion that our understanding of capitalism is that of valuing competition, but it’s ahistorical to the story of human evolution. We are social creatures, we are MEANT to cooperate, which inherently means we have a biological imperative to value each other, and yet we are instructed away from our biological imperative by the promise of green paper, and we are instructed to believe that the paper is what is valuable, not us.
"We are social creatures, we are MEANT to cooperate, which inherently means we have a biological imperative to value each other, and yet we are instructed away from our biological imperative by the promise of green paper, and we are instructed to believe that the paper is what is valuable, not us."
LOVE this. I think there's always a push-pull between being selfish and selfless (valuing the group more than yourself) but you're right that cooperation has always been key to our survival. It feels like very short-term thinking to imagine we can just out-compete everyone else.
I struggle with this so much. I have worked hard my entire life, and I’m proud of what I’ve done. But I’ve never made the kind of money that would support a family. And because of that, the work I have done looks … cheap. Less meaningful. Add to that the fact that I never advocated for higher pay; I just trusted that my employers cared and were paying me market wages. And I was often wrong. (The exception was my short spell as a public school teacher, when a union assured I’d be paid a living wage. Not a pittance, as is popularly understood — it was a true middle-class income, with good benefits.) Now, nearing retirement, I’m faced with the accounting of what I’ve earned across my entire life, and it’s disheartening. I have to remind myself of what you’ve written here: those numbers are not my worth.
Oh man, I'm so sorry that your trust was so abused! Those numbers aren't your worth. Your work has surely impacted a lot more people than you can ever imagine. It matters, even the small things you did <3
Earning a living in the arts and sciences (at least in academia) are probably the most precarious in our society. As a former physicist who also have musician friends, I found the financial outlook for artists and scientists to be very similar. There are very few positions available, the pay is awful, and there is no security unless one is among the top performers. And yet we love our professions to the point that we sacrifice all creature comforts in order to succeed. And then at some point, reality sets in and we either change to another more marketable field or we teach (I ended up doing both). In a free market economy, I am afraid that arts and sciences are considered to be a luxury. OK, I can accept that but what I find extremely frustrating is that certain professions which are of high value to society, e.g., primary/secondary school teachers, are still given very low pay-grades.
I hadn't thought of scientists being in this same boat, but of course, you're right. I have a friend who's a professor in the sciences, she's always biting her nails on whether her grant funding will come through. What does it say about our culture that not even scientists can make a steady income? And that a teaching salary counts as a step up?
Success is one of those nebulous terms (kinda like really) whose only meaningful definition is strictly personal.In one's eyes the very plentitude of objects could spell it,to another's,the fact that dishes are not piled sky high in the sink (even though Jason,misses all the dishes already done),could meet their metric.
This is all so resonant for me. Just completely took the thoughts out of my head. The questions, the frustrations, the resentment… ugh I want the revolution.
That meme is hilarious, and I’m cheering on your bestseller! 🎉
it's funny how we have this narrative about prestigious work like investment banking, isn't it? I knew a lot of highly educated, well-paid miserable people when I was living abroad. How do we reclaim the proper value of work, I wonder? And if work is not the center of life, what is?
Oh, but if we valued janitors and teachers more, everyone would want to be one!…said nobody ever. Maybe the bathrooms would look and smell like they were valued more if we truly valued the work it takes to keep them clean and functioning, and if the workers who do it also felt valued and could see their contributions appreciated.
It seems counterintuitive to consider that one day, we’ll have to similarly value those who don’t compete for work, as technology seeks to replace the workers for the sake of efficiency. The truth is that undervaluing the laborers who will build such machinery will lead to developments that reflect that undervaluing (consider the Cybertruck). If such a machine were to threaten the very existence or means of subsistence for those workers, it also stands to reason that some will want to, subtly or otherwise, rage against it.
I keep returning to the notion that our understanding of capitalism is that of valuing competition, but it’s ahistorical to the story of human evolution. We are social creatures, we are MEANT to cooperate, which inherently means we have a biological imperative to value each other, and yet we are instructed away from our biological imperative by the promise of green paper, and we are instructed to believe that the paper is what is valuable, not us.
"We are social creatures, we are MEANT to cooperate, which inherently means we have a biological imperative to value each other, and yet we are instructed away from our biological imperative by the promise of green paper, and we are instructed to believe that the paper is what is valuable, not us."
LOVE this. I think there's always a push-pull between being selfish and selfless (valuing the group more than yourself) but you're right that cooperation has always been key to our survival. It feels like very short-term thinking to imagine we can just out-compete everyone else.
I struggle with this so much. I have worked hard my entire life, and I’m proud of what I’ve done. But I’ve never made the kind of money that would support a family. And because of that, the work I have done looks … cheap. Less meaningful. Add to that the fact that I never advocated for higher pay; I just trusted that my employers cared and were paying me market wages. And I was often wrong. (The exception was my short spell as a public school teacher, when a union assured I’d be paid a living wage. Not a pittance, as is popularly understood — it was a true middle-class income, with good benefits.) Now, nearing retirement, I’m faced with the accounting of what I’ve earned across my entire life, and it’s disheartening. I have to remind myself of what you’ve written here: those numbers are not my worth.
Oh man, I'm so sorry that your trust was so abused! Those numbers aren't your worth. Your work has surely impacted a lot more people than you can ever imagine. It matters, even the small things you did <3
Earning a living in the arts and sciences (at least in academia) are probably the most precarious in our society. As a former physicist who also have musician friends, I found the financial outlook for artists and scientists to be very similar. There are very few positions available, the pay is awful, and there is no security unless one is among the top performers. And yet we love our professions to the point that we sacrifice all creature comforts in order to succeed. And then at some point, reality sets in and we either change to another more marketable field or we teach (I ended up doing both). In a free market economy, I am afraid that arts and sciences are considered to be a luxury. OK, I can accept that but what I find extremely frustrating is that certain professions which are of high value to society, e.g., primary/secondary school teachers, are still given very low pay-grades.
I hadn't thought of scientists being in this same boat, but of course, you're right. I have a friend who's a professor in the sciences, she's always biting her nails on whether her grant funding will come through. What does it say about our culture that not even scientists can make a steady income? And that a teaching salary counts as a step up?
I make all the money and technically have a house husband and STILL find myself washing dishing and making dinner, so....
Damn, you just had to go and burst my bubble 😜
Success is one of those nebulous terms (kinda like really) whose only meaningful definition is strictly personal.In one's eyes the very plentitude of objects could spell it,to another's,the fact that dishes are not piled sky high in the sink (even though Jason,misses all the dishes already done),could meet their metric.
This is all so resonant for me. Just completely took the thoughts out of my head. The questions, the frustrations, the resentment… ugh I want the revolution.
That meme is hilarious, and I’m cheering on your bestseller! 🎉
haha thanks Lindsey. Your work is always very resonant with me as well.
it's funny how we have this narrative about prestigious work like investment banking, isn't it? I knew a lot of highly educated, well-paid miserable people when I was living abroad. How do we reclaim the proper value of work, I wonder? And if work is not the center of life, what is?