Do we work too much?
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Original post by Maid Marian
Yes, in the good old days we would be living in pretty little cottages in the countryside, eating what we catch with our bare hands, and sitting round a roaring fire at night. 
There would be nowhere near as much work or stress as there is in modern society.
There would be nowhere near as much work or stress as there is in modern society.Like in Sherwood forest?
Original post by Blackshadow
Like in Sherwood forest?
Yeah
Original post by RedArrow
To hell? Nooo, I'm too good for hell
I think a lot of people have an unhealthy attitude to work. I enjoy my job, and would do what I do whether I got paid or not (but of course the money means that I can devote time to it much more easily).
I think we do. We grow up through school, with homework, exams, more exams and then we graduate or we find a job and that's solely what our life revolves around. A cycle of jobs and work to be done until we're what, 66? and we can finally retire. I think, unless you find a way out of this cycle, we really do work too hard and aren't able to fully enjoy ourselves and free time.
Original post by uktotalgamer
Which newspaper told you that? There are strict laws that employers have to follow. I assume what you perceive as exploitation is laziness on your part.
they don't because they have the power.If you don't accept their exploitation they will hire another one.Laws are not that strict,they're better than 1800 but still allow exploitation.Bank of America just killed one of them with work.
Yes we do: before the war, the aim of the labour movement was to use mechanisation to increase human leisure time. Nowadays, if we had stuck with the productivity of that era, we would only be working 4 hours a week.
Then the elites realised that gave the common man too much time to think and challenge the status quo, so the goal of ever increasing productivity, and the culture of busywork, was set.
Then the elites realised that gave the common man too much time to think and challenge the status quo, so the goal of ever increasing productivity, and the culture of busywork, was set.
Original post by uktotalgamer
Which newspaper told you that? There are strict laws that employers have to follow. I assume what you perceive as exploitation is laziness on your part.
All employment is exploitation, otherwise the employee would demand an equal share of the profits in return for helping to run the business. Haven't you heard of Marx?
Compared to the rest of the world, Britain doesn't work enough. I personally see Britain under its current "welfare state" on a steady decline.
Original post by Tigers
they don't because they have the power.If you don't accept their exploitation they will hire another one.Laws are not that strict,they're better than 1800 but still allow exploitation.Bank of America just killed one of them with work.
You are determining exploitation as work, which it isn't.
Original post by scrotgrot
All employment is exploitation, otherwise the employee would demand an equal share of the profits in return for helping to run the business. Haven't you heard of Marx?
Yes, I have. But Marxism is complete rubbish. You can never rid human greed.
Original post by uktotalgamer
You are determining exploitation as work, which it isn't.
Yes, I have. But Marxism is complete rubbish. You can never rid human greed.
Yes, I have. But Marxism is complete rubbish. You can never rid human greed.
Marxism means you recognise the way the workers are exploited because of not having the means of production. It doesn't suggest that human greed can be transcended.
What is more likely is cataclysm, followed by deaths, and then excess resources people can start to monopolise again. But I wouldn't want to bet my life on being part of the survivors.
And that is what the middle classes don't realise: their narcissism has been fed so they see themselves as upper class in all but genealogy. That is an illusion; as we can see in this country today, the middle classes are only marginally better off than the working classes they disparage, and that ground is so very easily lost.
If you're middle-class, in a cataclysm you would most definitely be among the victims.
Original post by Charlzi
We probably work less now then every before, but also have less leisure now then every before.
In hunter gatherer times, people only had to "work" for a few hours a day, and even then it was only 2 or 3 days a week. People had loads of leisure time, just not anything to do with it.
Work hard play hard fam
Original post by c_al
In hunter gatherer times, people only had to "work" for a few hours a day, and even then it was only 2 or 3 days a week. People had loads of leisure time, just not anything to do with it.
I doubt it was a few hours a day. They would have to build shelter, bonfires, gather food, clothes, look after children, construct weapontry, look after the sick, look after newborns, teach the next generation how to do all these things and more. They just also happened to enjoy their leisure time better imo and worry less. And with my statement I was refering more to maybe the 1800s or around there, however I do feel my statement can be related to any other time than today's modern time, where all we do is worry, work and sleep.
Original post by Maid Marian
To hell? Nooo, I'm too good for hell
I thought heaven was only for teh beautiful ladiez
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Original post by uktotalgamer
You are determining exploitation as work, which it isn't.
Yes, I have. But Marxism is complete rubbish. You can never rid human greed.
Yes, I have. But Marxism is complete rubbish. You can never rid human greed.
'Human greed' doesn't really have anything to do with it. The key point of Marxist economics is that, under capitalism, workers are paid less than what their labour is actually worth. Instead of being paid according to the value of their labour, they are paid the bare minimum their employers can get away with while still profiting from their employment. Essentially the capitalist class profits by leeching off the labour of others. That's what people mean by 'exploitation'.
Original post by Lady Comstock
Should we devote more time to leisure. Yes, it would cost money but it would be utilitarian.
you need money for leisure.
Friend of me did first university, then she worked for a period of 6 months, spending litle money, and then went backpacking , traveling the world for 6 months, coming back working again for 6 months, then again started to travel for 6 months,, she did this for 15 years.....
Original post by uktotalgamer
You are determining exploitation as work, which it isn't.
Yes, I have. But Marxism is complete rubbish. You can never rid human greed.
Yes, I have. But Marxism is complete rubbish. You can never rid human greed.
if it wasn't,employers would earn the same of their workers(this is just an example).If you want to work for Bank of America you have to do shifts of 70 hours,if you don't accept you must settle for a small company and Bank of America will find another person willing to risk his life to get the job.This is exploitation
Original post by Tigers
if it wasn't,employers would earn the same of their workers(this is just an example).If you want to work for Bank of America you have to do shifts of 70 hours,if you don't accept you must settle for a small company and Bank of America will find another person willing to risk his life to get the job.This is exploitation
No it isn't, that capitalism, and your starting to drift into the realms of fantasy. If everyone earned the same, no matter the skill required where is the motivation? Where is the motivation to get better or succeed? It goes, thus why same wages are a nonsense.
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