Men Without Work (2016)
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Men Without Work (2016)
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Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#2In lieu of any particular review I’m submitting the Wikipedia page.
I was unemployed for most of the Great Recession and can empathize with much of this book. I also just remember the “tragedy of my twenties” realizing society had basically no interest in me. Despite a math degree and IT/programming experience. Then the myriad people I’ve interacted with in the last decade plus who are in this situation.
Luckily I now have good paying career. But I fear a society that leaves so many cold.
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#3Many men who would have done well as labor or middle management in, say, 20th century factories, now find themselves the victims of a rapidly changing, ever-more-concentrated, ever-more-automated global capitalist economy that has less and less need for them. And to them it feels as if no one cares about them.
To riff on Churchill[a]: Capitalism is the worst economic system ever invented... except for all others that have been tried from time to time. It's ruthless.
There may be a better system... but it hasn't been invented yet. For now, we must figure out how to make this horrible system -- capitalism -- be less horrible, including for all those men who now find themselves marginalized by it. If we blindly let AI-powered software "eat the world" unfettered, without humane constraints, we'd only see greater concentration of economic and political power going forward, which would likely end up in some kind of really ugly societal breakdown.
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[a] https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/the-worst-form...
EDITS: Many, necessary for more accurately articulating my thoughts.
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#4Many men who would have done well as labor or middle management in, say, 20th century factories, now find themselves the victims of a rapidly changing, ever-more-concentrated, ever-more-automated global capitalist economy that has less and less need for them. And to them it feels as if no one cares about them. To riff on Churchill[a]: Capitalism is the worst economic system ever invented... except for all others that…
"deaths because of communism are entirely because of communism, but deaths because of capitalism are because you didn't pull your bootstraps hard enough"
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#5Many men who would have done well as labor or middle management in, say, 20th century factories, now find themselves the victims of a rapidly changing, ever-more-concentrated, ever-more-automated global capitalist economy that has less and less need for them. And to them it feels as if no one cares about them. To riff on Churchill[a]: Capitalism is the worst economic system ever invented... except for all others that…
"deaths because of communism are entirely because of communism, but deaths because of capitalism are because you didn't pull your bootstraps hard enough"
Yes, capitalism on its own, without any kind of social and individual-rights safety net, is ruthlessly cruel. "The worst."
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#6Many men who would have done well as labor or middle management in, say, 20th century factories, now find themselves the victims of a rapidly changing, ever-more-concentrated, ever-more-automated global capitalist economy that has less and less need for them. And to them it feels as if no one cares about them. To riff on Churchill[a]: Capitalism is the worst economic system ever invented... except for all others that…
That's a pretty useless quote. It entirely ignores the fact the economic systems all exist on a spectrum from extreme libertarianism to complete state ownership. The question has never been capitalism versus socialism, it's always been "how much regulation do we want as a society in exchange for a higher floor in our quality of life?" (and its follow up, did that regulation actually achieve its goals?)
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#7Many men who would have done well as labor or middle management in, say, 20th century factories, now find themselves the victims of a rapidly changing, ever-more-concentrated, ever-more-automated global capitalist economy that has less and less need for them. And to them it feels as if no one cares about them. To riff on Churchill[a]: Capitalism is the worst economic system ever invented... except for all others that…
That's a pretty useless quote. It entirely ignores the fact the economic systems all exist on a spectrum from extreme libertarianism to complete state ownership. The question has never been capitalism versus socialism, it's always been "how much regulation do we want as a society in exchange for a higher floor in our quality of life?" (and its follow up, did that regulation actually achieve its goals?)
I find it useful. My take from it is that capitalism requires patches to work, because otherwise it becomes too horrible for too many: "The worst."
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#8I'm very far from a red-pilled anti-feminist but I do think this is a hugely overlooked problem.
Perhaps too much of an aside but I was lucky enough to be able to take an extended parental leave when my child was born, being a "stay at home dad" for the best part of a year. It was incredibly hard work, incredibly rewarding but also a real eye opener at how society still doesn't know what to do with a full-time parent that isn't a woman. Meetups are still called "New Mums Groups", you get shifty looks at playgrounds, playspaces etc., endless questions about what it is that you do. Even the people trying to be positive end up being somewhat patronising ("oh are you babysitting today!").
Anyway, point is, true equality would mean that it's absolutely fine for a man to stay at home and raise a family while the woman is the breadwinner. We're not there and that hurts both men and women.
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#9Many men who would have done well as labor or middle management in, say, 20th century factories, now find themselves the victims of a rapidly changing, ever-more-concentrated, ever-more-automated global capitalist economy that has less and less need for them. And to them it feels as if no one cares about them. To riff on Churchill[a]: Capitalism is the worst economic system ever invented... except for all others that…
That's a pretty useless quote. It entirely ignores the fact the economic systems all exist on a spectrum from extreme libertarianism to complete state ownership. The question has never been capitalism versus socialism, it's always been "how much regulation do we want as a society in exchange for a higher floor in our quality of life?" (and its follow up, did that regulation actually achieve its goals?)
That framing seems poorly equipped to handle things like feudalism.
Re: Men Without Work (2016)
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a pretty useless quote. It entirely ignores the fact the economic systems all exist on a spectrum from extreme libertarianism to complete state ownership. The question has never been capitalism versus socialism, it's always been "how much regulation do we want as a society in exchange for a higher floor in our quality of life?" (and its follow up, did that regulation actually achieve its goals?)
That framing seems poorly equipped to handle things like feudalism.
Hm. I've always thought of feudalism as a form of state ownership wrt to property/means of production, though there are definitely additional considerations re: other rights; the state in that case being the feudal estate.