What is work?

Why do we all have to work? Its not that I am against work per se, it just that I see so many jobs that are utterly pointless. Society is structured to make us need employment, and employers entice people into captivity with salaries, permanent contracts and pensions. In this world of hyper-networked people, is this really the best way to organise effort?

I guess part of the problem is due to seemingly genetic desire to create in-groups. Exclude to enrich, feed our need for status, find the best mate. On the other hand, there's the free-spirit in us all. Many have escaped captivity, we can contribute as we travel and learn without taking too much from the planet.

I was prompted to write now after reading the news about the Twitter Opera. This is another example of the wisdom of the crowds, just like all the companies outsourcing their problems to the masses, this seems to be the way to go. Why not pay everyone a standard salary. If they want to work let them. Give everyone enough. Those that want to go the extra mile can earn more if they want. The people that want to work can use their industry to make things as efficient as possible. Work would simply be defined as doing things to help as many people as possible not need to work. We can get rid of all the pointless jobs through creating robots and intelligent information systems.

Its funny though, when you write this down you see all the holes in the master plan: if work needed to be done, how would we choose who has to do it; lottery?

Those that aren't working can dedicate their lives to learning, sport, adventure, painting, music, raise cultured children etc. They can follow their passions as long as its in a very humble way. We'd all live in a environmentally sustainable way unless we're doing research that could help more people avoid work.

The trouble with too many jobs is they are simply a way of controlling people. Jobs are too often the way to make managers feel they have a place in the world. It seems we have two strong human instincts: the need to captivate and the need to be captured.

People don't learn anything by swiping food through a checkout point, or processing bits of paper, and creating widgets that nobody needs. So why oblige people to take part in the name of employment statistics.

Of course many people have thought about this before. I don't think this is communism. I am saying let people be free to live humble but cultured lives. Let the boundaries of freedom be set by a sustainable life, not a cancerous must always expand economy looking to exploit the planet as fast as possible to optimise the status of a few people. We are not wolves, we are humans, we can rise about the most primitive systems.

Brendan Behan

I saw a notice which said 'Drink Canada Dry' and I've just started.

Working title: mentalese