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posted by mrpg on Monday July 02 2018, @04:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the I've-seen-those dept.

In an interview, anthropologist David Graeber answers questions about the modern workplace and the purposeless jobs that fill it.

Not since Dilbert has truth been spoken to power in soulless work settings. But the cartoon character's successor may be David Graeber. In 2013 he achieved viral fame with cubicle zombies everywhere after he published a short essay on the prevalence of work that had no social or economic reason to exist, which he called "bullshit jobs". The wide attention seemed to confirm his thesis.

Mr Graeber, an anthropologist at the London School of Economics, has expanded on the ideas in a recent book. He responded to five questions from The Economist's Open Future initiative. He rails against "feudal retinues of basically useless flunkies." As he puts it: "People want to feel they are transforming the world around them in a way that makes some kind a positive difference."

[...] One thing it shows is that the whole "lean and mean" ideal is applied much more to productive workers than to office cubicles. It's not at all uncommon for the same executives who pride themselves on downsizing and speed-ups on the shop floor, or in delivery and so forth, to use the money saved at least in part to fill their offices with feudal retinues of basically useless flunkies.

From The Economist : Bullshit jobs and the yoke of managerial feudalism


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  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:13AM (1 child)

    by edIII (791) on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:13AM (#701665)

    You don't seriously think that do you? They do study past cultures which can give insight into our problems today, and that's completely discounting the historical value provide us. Some of it is more biological in nature, and probably closer to a hard science. Not all anthropology is the study of current cultures in 1st world countries.

    It seems like you were equating anthropologists with astrology :)

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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday July 03 2018, @02:58AM

    That it's a bullshit job? Absolutely. That it's not a worthwhile pursuit? No.

    There's value to be had in knowing such things but it's not a value anyone who works with their hands for a living is going to consider worth a dime of their money. That's where colleges and private grants from people with more money than they have a need for come in. Not from the government though. Not ever. If they have more money than the have immediate practical use for it means they overcharged us and need to give it the fuck back because I for one damned sure do have immediate practical uses for what they take from me and I expect the vast majority of the rest of the world does as well.

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