So in that way they’re typically opposites.īrooks: How many of these bullshit jobs do you think could be eliminated and what kind of impact could that have on society? Bullshit jobs are most often paid quite well, involve nice benefit packages, you’re treated like you’re important and actually are doing something that needs to be done-but in fact, you know you’re not. The thing is for the most part, shit jobs aren’t bullshit, in the sense of being pointless or nonsensical, because actually they usually involve doing something that genuinely needs to be done: driving people around, building things, taking care of people, cleaning up after them. Back-breaking, underpaid, unappreciated, people who are treated without dignity and respect. Can you talk a little bit about the distinction between the two?ĭavid Graeber: Well it’s fairly straightforward: shit jobs are just bad jobs. Labor journalist Chris Brooks interviewed David Graeber to learn how so many pointless jobs came to exist and what it means for labor activists.Ĭhris Brooks: You make a distinction between bullshit jobs and shit jobs in your book. As much as half the work that the working population engages in every day could be considered pointless, says David Graeber, professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics and author of Bullshit Jobs: A Theory (Simon & Schuster, 2018).Īccording to Graeber, the same free-market policies that have made life and work more difficult for so many people over the past few decades have simultaneously produced more highly paid managers, telemarketers, insurance company bureaucrats, lawyers, and lobbyists who do nothing useful all day. If your answer to these questions is “yes,” then take solace. Is your job pointless? Do you feel that your job could be eliminated and everything would continue on just fine? Maybe, you think, society would even be a little better off if your job never existed? How did so many of these jobs come to exist, and what does it mean for labor activists? Chris Brooks ▪ August 16, 2018Ĭall center in Johannesburg, South Africa (Media Club / Flickr) As many as half of the jobs we do could be considered pointless, estimates anthropologist David Graeber.
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