The economist Tyler Cowen has the best criticism of Graeber's argument that I've seen:<p>> Graeber too often confuses “tough jobs in negative- or zero-sum games” with “bullshit jobs.” I view those as two quite distinct categories... He doubts whether Oxford University needs “a dozen-plus” PR specialists. I would be surprised if they can get by with so few. Consider their numerous summer programs, their need to advertise admissions, how they talk to the media and university rating services, their relations with China, the student lawsuits they face, their need to manage relations with Oxford the political unit, and the multiple independent schools within Oxford, just for a start. Overall, I fear that Graeber’s managerial intelligence is not up to par, or at the very least he rarely convinces me that he has a superior organizational understanding, compared to people who deal with these problems every day.<p>Source: <a href="https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/05/bull-shit-jobs-theory.html" rel="nofollow">https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/05/bu...</a>