Meh. I’ve seen a lot of these short essays about how after the pandemic we either should not or simply will not return to the status quo. It doesn’t really do anything to say “the economy doesn’t work” in 5 paragraphs and then say nothing else.<p>Yes, lots of poor people are getting screwed. Some jobs don’t pay well despite the higher moral standing of directly assisting others. The environment looks pretty bad. But you can’t just say “rich people bad. New economy plz”.<p>This essay is basically r/im14andthisisdeep
> This is what happened after the 2008 financial crash. There was a brief moment of questioning. (What is “finance,” anyway? Isn’t it just other people’s debts? What is money? Is it just debt, too? What’s debt? Isn’t it just a promise? If money and debt are just a collection of promises we make to each other, then couldn’t we just as easily make different ones?) The window was almost instantly shut by those insisting we shut up, stop thinking, and get back to work, or at least start looking for it.<p>yeah, sure, just completely ignore the $2T cryptocurrency industry that’s <i>objectively</i> a response to govt’s handling of 2008 (read Satoshi’s genesis block)?<p>i’m not really sure what the author’s trying to push for though: that we all don’t go back to working for rich people? well sure, but the valuable part is showing us <i>how</i> to do that…
> At some point in the next few months, the crisis will be declared over<p>Our governments seem to move from crisis to crisis, though the cart/horse roles are ambiguous here.
Another guy gets angry and rightly so.<p>But apart from that angriness - which I can find some simpaty for - the article does not tell us anything.<p>Nothing about the complicate reasons our society is in this state. Nothing about some solutions to make it better.
This is an opportunity to do to government what was done to cloud systems: architect for better scaling and distribution.<p>There is a pre-modern tendency toward muscular executive branches that bears re-thinking, though.
that whole the great reset and how life will be different after the pandemic was not serious, those of us who know that knew that back when it was said. maybe it sounds negative, but come on, the system did not change for those who were on the front lines. it was a pat on the back for the working man or woman who was risking their lives, and getting nothing in return.<p>a lot of people who have worked terrible jobs during the pandemic didn't have an opportunity to retrain and rethink about things, they were still working, the whole things are gonna change crowd were those who had the privilege to wait things out from the safety of their computers, they could order doordash or amazon groceries and drink their home made espresso while shopping for a cute new mask to show everyone how much they cared about being safe. the people who made the mask, worked in the food supply chain, delivered your groceries and doordash food kept their 60-70 hour a week job of hopelessness, had zero opportunity to shift away from that. while people were talking about how things are different now, many americans were dealing with the same, except they were now in an extremely dangerous situation (according to the experts) but, in many cases did not receive anything other than "thanks", and maybe a dollar or two more in tips, if they didn't forget anything.<p>what the pandemic has taught me is that we are not some civilized, future minded society, we are a bunch of naked apes with pitchforks who like to hoard for profit and fight over which candidate sweet talks better but offers zero solutions other than creating race/freedom/whatever division you can think of... culture war. do we have a chance to make things better? yes, when we stop looking at the world through a political lens, and start looking at it from a humanity lens.
Of course a quite short post. But indeed spinns of a couple of questions about our current reality. Going to remote work as one point. Of course this does not help the nurse in your local hospital. But i do hope, that it will have a major impact on our social lives regarding carework for your family. A shame that i found out about the death of graeber through this post…
> just a way of tabulating the aggregate desires of rich people, most of whom are at least slightly pathological,<p>He lost me here. Guy is just a communist hoping for another Bolshevik Revolution.<p>Maybe it is true of the uber rich, but the majority of millionaires are just normal people who saved, started a business, and just invested.<p>If I was to judge someone character strictly off their economic status, you’re likely to find on average that the average rich man is a more moral productive member of society than the average poor one.<p>If he was talking about the bureaucrats way of getting rich by accepting bribes and funneling taxes to their pockets he might have had me. As it is his ideas would just make it worse.
I am hopeful there will be a technological inflection at which adequate nutritious food, clean water, and shelter will be freely self-sustaining for all people. I am not talking about a point at which these things are provided or paid for, but rather a point at which the appropriate technologies are plentiful and self-sustaining, much like plants are today.
It's strange to see this upvoted on HN of all places. Some marxist inspired ramblings with no clear conclusion. Fact is that the free enterprise system works very well when you let it work and this is backed by a lot of empirical data.
Wasn’t this guys book on bullshit jobs completely debunked? I mean yeah, filing TPS sheets might seem pointless on their own but in the grand scheme of things someone needs to checkboxes. It might be unglamorous work but it necessary for the whole system to function.<p>We talk about productivity gains and why we still work 40 hour weeks and my answer is always this - you’re free to trade those productivity gains for free time. Go and find a plot of land 1890 homesteaders would normally claim, grow some food, build a sod house and eschew modern society in all its flavors - technology, healthcare, engineering, etc. i don’t mean to sound like a dick, but that’s why we still work 40+ hour work weeks despite the efficiency gains - because a modern lifestyle costs a hell of a lot more than basic subsistence.<p>People do this! Ted Kazinsky did it. It is possible. But of course everyone wants their mRNA vaccine technology and 10 hours weeks as well.