Is Capitalism Bad For You?
Max Weber on The Protestant Ethic & The Spirit of Capitalism.
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Max Weber on The Protestant Ethic & The Spirit of Capitalism.
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I've considered this quite a bit lately. The notion that automation should eventually put people out of work. Ideally, this would mean a future where people don't have to work but are free to direct their attention to whatever pursuits they desire. But there's a lot of things in-between that could wreck us.CrystalShadow said:I do fear a 'work ethic' Is slowly becoming a liability though. Because of automation and it's long term implications, having that as a core social value is going to bite us in the butt sooner or later.
CrystalShadow said:Fascinating series... I'm glad to see something new anyway.
The nature of what is being covered is a bit beyond me, but that's fine. (I don't have the historical background to comment directly on the topic presented)
I do fear a 'work ethic' Is slowly becoming a liability though. Because of automation and it's long term implications, having that as a core social value is going to bite us in the butt sooner or later.
Not for the individual that takes it to heart, but rather, society as a whole.
What do you do when you define people's worth through their work, when the majority won't be able to find anything to do?
If you're curious about the topic, you can do further (if less humorously-illustrated) reading here [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2012/04/the-politics-of-getting-a-life/] and here [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/the-right-to-be-playful/].She-Pudding said:Interesting topic, and charming from its narrtor to its graphics. ^u^
I love a good e-series that teaches me something new, or has a novel voice to get me thinking... especially while lvl grinding or playing minecraft. I suppose this is just one more vid to keep an eye on!
I don't see this eventuality as sad though. Freeing up human time spent on labors of love rather than necessity would be rather grand. I do think we'd need some shift in core values to avoid the pitfalls of being hedonistic consumers and pleasure-seeking machines, but not having to work for basic necessities could drive an artistic revolution. I don't know that we can say robots would ever be better at art since such valuation would be, in whole or large part, subjective.Lightknight said:I've considered this quite a bit lately. The notion that automation should eventually put people out of work. Ideally, this would mean a future where people don't have to work but are free to direct their attention to whatever pursuits they desire. But there's a lot of things in-between that could wreck us.CrystalShadow said:I do fear a 'work ethic' Is slowly becoming a liability though. Because of automation and it's long term implications, having that as a core social value is going to bite us in the butt sooner or later.
I imagine that the government will eventually have to legislate a certain ratio of human works be maintained for companies. That could side step the issue of massive layoffs with fewer consumers to buy things (because, again, layoffs).
We'll have to see how that turns out. What's sad is that robots will inevitably out-pace us eventually. There will be a day when there's nothing we can do that they can't do better. Everything from innovation to humor.
That's one solution. But an especially awkward one assuming the work would normally be done by machines for the sake of efficiency.Lightknight said:I've considered this quite a bit lately. The notion that automation should eventually put people out of work. Ideally, this would mean a future where people don't have to work but are free to direct their attention to whatever pursuits they desire. But there's a lot of things in-between that could wreck us.CrystalShadow said:I do fear a 'work ethic' Is slowly becoming a liability though. Because of automation and it's long term implications, having that as a core social value is going to bite us in the butt sooner or later.
I imagine that the government will eventually have to legislate a certain ratio of human works be maintained for companies. That could side step the issue of massive layoffs with fewer consumers to buy things (because, again, layoffs).
We'll have to see how that turns out. What's sad is that robots will inevitably out-pace us eventually. There will be a day when there's nothing we can do that they can't do better. Everything from innovation to humor.
It's a shame Weber never saw the rise of neo-liberalism from the late 70's and onwards, that's where capitalism showed its true problems. Regulated capitalism is indeed pretty good.Spankable said:le snip
That definitely made for some fascinating reading. You don't see stuff like that started clearly very often...Sylocat said:CrystalShadow said:Fascinating series... I'm glad to see something new anyway.
The nature of what is being covered is a bit beyond me, but that's fine. (I don't have the historical background to comment directly on the topic presented)
I do fear a 'work ethic' Is slowly becoming a liability though. Because of automation and it's long term implications, having that as a core social value is going to bite us in the butt sooner or later.
Not for the individual that takes it to heart, but rather, society as a whole.
What do you do when you define people's worth through their work, when the majority won't be able to find anything to do?If you're curious about the topic, you can do further (if less humorously-illustrated) reading here [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2012/04/the-politics-of-getting-a-life/] and here [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/the-right-to-be-playful/].She-Pudding said:Interesting topic, and charming from its narrtor to its graphics. ^u^
I love a good e-series that teaches me something new, or has a novel voice to get me thinking... especially while lvl grinding or playing minecraft. I suppose this is just one more vid to keep an eye on!
Starving the population is a really good way for those in power to get their heads lopped off and stuck on poles. Also, I'd say that a population is really only excessive (within the scope of this conversation) if it is difficult to house or feed said population, something which automation should make easier to do. You'd have excess population in comparison to work that you needed done, but I imagine you'd see a shift to jobs created for arts, sports and customer service rather than a summary round-up and extermination of those who can't find jobs. Not impossible of course, as the tactics you suggest have been used before. I just don't think it's all that likely to happen, and surely not likely to succeed.CrystalShadow said:That's one solution. But an especially awkward one assuming the work would normally be done by machines for the sake of efficiency.Lightknight said:I've considered this quite a bit lately. The notion that automation should eventually put people out of work. Ideally, this would mean a future where people don't have to work but are free to direct their attention to whatever pursuits they desire. But there's a lot of things in-between that could wreck us.CrystalShadow said:I do fear a 'work ethic' Is slowly becoming a liability though. Because of automation and it's long term implications, having that as a core social value is going to bite us in the butt sooner or later.
I imagine that the government will eventually have to legislate a certain ratio of human works be maintained for companies. That could side step the issue of massive layoffs with fewer consumers to buy things (because, again, layoffs).
We'll have to see how that turns out. What's sad is that robots will inevitably out-pace us eventually. There will be a day when there's nothing we can do that they can't do better. Everything from innovation to humor.
I would imagine a more viable solution longterm would be to remove all work related taxes, (primarily income tax), and try to ensure the remaining taxes can be distributed to the population.
Unfortunately, with current trends I rather fear the handful of people with enough wealth and power to control the automated manufacturing systems are more inclined to attempt mass irradication of the 'excess' population, either directly, or through starvation.
Pessimistic I suppose, but that's what I expect to see if we don't radically alter our value system before automation truly starts to take over everything...