David Graeber on the Value of Work

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  • Опубликовано: 10 окт 2016
  • David Graeber on the Value of Work. Does the world really need neuroadvertisers, PR researchers and branding consultants? Renowned academic and coiner of the ‘we are the 99%’ slogan, David Graeber is a passionate advocate for meaningful work. After famously condemning the 21st century phenomenon of ‘bullsh*t jobs’, in this short animation he investigates the philosophical underpinnings of employment, and calls for a reformulation of what work should be.
    Watch the full talk (RSA Replay): • David Graeber on a Fai...
    Voice: David Graeber
    Illustration & animation: Jack Dubben (jackdubben.com/)
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Комментарии • 181

  • @bxhrbr4940
    @bxhrbr4940 3 года назад +140

    RIP David! You will be missed and you were a hero! Heroes never die!
    Viva anarchism!

    • @MysticJabulon
      @MysticJabulon 3 года назад +11

      Shit, I just learned from you that he died. Dammit. RIP.

    • @alfiecdyson
      @alfiecdyson Год назад +2

      🤧

  • @kleberpauta8209
    @kleberpauta8209 3 года назад +72

    What a beautiful video. RIP David Graeber, Utopia of Rules is one of my all time favorite books.

  • @jonjennings13
    @jonjennings13 4 года назад +124

    I once had a job that paid decently and all I did was wait for this machine to jam and I would clear it and it would jam maybe five minutes out of the whole ten hour day. I literally had nothing to do with the rest of the day and sometimes just passerby would clear the machine and I wouldn’t have to attend with it all and the life of me I could not understand why they hired me

    • @jnet7989
      @jnet7989 3 года назад +14

      I had a buddy that shredded paper for 2 years for $20 hr, sometimes he would sign for a fed ex delivery. Government contractor

    • @rational-public-discourse
      @rational-public-discourse Год назад +5

      I could use a job like that now.

    • @ericrae7531
      @ericrae7531 Год назад +3

      Have you read Graeber's book "Bullshit Jobs"?

    • @davefroman4700
      @davefroman4700 9 месяцев назад

      Because it was convenient to hire you, but not convenient to replace the faulty machine.

  • @Dmyra
    @Dmyra 6 лет назад +53

    "Production is ultimately the production of people... Production of commodities is a secondary moment, which enables us to produce people that we'd like to have around, thats what life is really all about." Graeber... what a mind, just slips that in at the end...

    • @sodalitia
      @sodalitia 3 года назад +2

      You do realize that he didn't invent the idea of production, being the production of people? All he talks about is written in Marx'es "Capital".

    • @piezoelectron
      @piezoelectron 2 года назад

      Then you're just misreading both Graeber and Marx completely, but I'm sure you call yourself a "Marxist"

    • @vectorization
      @vectorization Год назад

      Can someone ELI5?

    • @Dmyra
      @Dmyra Год назад +1

      @@vectorization what means?

    • @Dmyra
      @Dmyra Год назад

      @@piezoelectron hi, i am not marxist at all. I say that in a transpersonal context. i am somewhat conservative, but mostly very centrist. great awakening > great reset
      I honestly think Marx is a jerk but respect other people’s opinions. And don’t wanna argue with anybody about anything here. I’m just a simple person but like to live a good life and let the other people

  • @IanFrantz
    @IanFrantz 7 лет назад +147

    I think about how much of our business and political language overlaps with the language of war. Strategy, tactics, offensives, counter-offensives, hierarchy, deception, logistics, ect. ect. But you'll notice the language of art doesn't overlap with some of these militaristic terms. When David talks about how businesses will pay for strategic consultants, vision coordinators, competitive intelligence, ect. I think it's because it overlaps back with biases already held that connect language and value which were seeded through the combination of an industrial economy, WW1, WW2, sudden knowledge economy expansion, decline of religious institutions providing value, a predominantly hedonistic western philosophy, our desire for stuff; these things are now pretty well rooted and sprouting. I'm just making observations in the times which I find myself in and like David, I continue to wonder how we arrived and what this all holds for us in the future.

    • @ceekay9253
      @ceekay9253 7 лет назад +14

      Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I think it is so because a lot of the fathers of management came from a background with military expertise.

    • @ERRATICCHEESE2
      @ERRATICCHEESE2 7 лет назад +14

      What does it hold for us in the future? Ecocide, bigger boom and bust cycles, ocean acidification, species loss, more debt bondage (capitalism inherently creates more debt than money) and a scapegoating of the poor who will have to be pushed aside using new, cleverer tactics. Those who resist will be killed, leading to a slow genocide/caging of the lower classes. Their deaths and jailing will take place so slowly and be spread over such a long period of time, that nobody will notice or care. Meanwhile, mainstream art will become increasingly fascist, sexualized and violent, attempting to placate the escalting impotency of consumers. Mental illness will increase, and deaths due to mental illness. In 2099 a large market crash will see some kind of new New Deal taking place, new "safety nets" put in place to protect 22nd century capitalism.

    • @KOME11
      @KOME11 7 лет назад +5

      Ian Frantz this is the best comment on RUclips

    • @PoliticalWeekly
      @PoliticalWeekly 7 лет назад +1

      Well, War is the reason why certain parts of society progress. The labor movement would not be where it was in the 1970s if there was no world war.

    • @shway1
      @shway1 7 лет назад

      oh come on, logistics? you're taking this too far

  • @natasja4307
    @natasja4307 4 года назад +48

    Very relevant during this corona crisis and its aftermath.

    • @hamza3065
      @hamza3065 3 года назад +6

      corona lockdowns made me realize how many of our jobs were actually made just for the sake of it. We could do just as well without them.

  • @5Gazto
    @5Gazto 2 года назад +6

    "
    I think we're at the brink of a reformulation
    of what work is and what is valuable about it,
    that could really lead to a reformulation
    of how we organise everything,
    what we think production even is.
    Production is ultimately the production of people
    a collection of commodities is a secondary moment
    which enables us to produce people that we'd like
    to have around, that's what life is really about.
    "

  • @TheGammelfjols
    @TheGammelfjols 4 года назад +38

    Bullshit jobs is one of the best books i ever read. pure and simpel.

    • @andreipopescu5342
      @andreipopescu5342 5 месяцев назад

      it also must be one of the few.

    • @thehealthychefri
      @thehealthychefri 4 месяца назад

      @@andreipopescu5342 Your primitive IQ is very strong!

  • @Tori_TLCR
    @Tori_TLCR 3 года назад +22

    I had a job one summer in college that was so bullshit that there wasn't even bullshit work to be done. I am not exaggerating when I say I had a MS Word document open on my computer, so I could pretend to be typing something in case my boss went by. I worried all the time I would be fired because of a lack of work. The kicker? When I graduated, my boss called and offered me a full-time position! I declined because it sounds fun but it sucks so much to have nothing to do, it was boring + anxiety inducing to think today is the day they realize, this job is not necessary and I will be unemployed.

    • @Rananh90
      @Rananh90 2 года назад +1

      You have a lot of time to find something pursuits, find it and move on, don't let's it waste more time of your life

  • @generaljellyroll8737
    @generaljellyroll8737 5 лет назад +19

    I have been following that guy. I like that someone out there is animating what he has to say.

  • @ribamarsantarosa4465
    @ribamarsantarosa4465 2 года назад +7

    "Well, I don't really do anything. I have this computer job. I could automate it and write software to do the whole thing but don't tell my boss" 😂😂😂😂😂 I guess I know someone who did that 🤣🤣🤣

  • @zainabs2603
    @zainabs2603 3 года назад +38

    Rest in power, comrade.

  • @DeSoccerRefMan
    @DeSoccerRefMan 7 лет назад +22

    I help people and I fix things

    • @coolioso808
      @coolioso808 Месяц назад

      What do think about the idea of a Library Economy? Andrewism channel describes it well. Expand the library to other things, not just books; tools, equipment, furniture, clothes, vehicles, games, toys, media, the list can go on! Yes capitalist ruling elite will fight against it, but that is to be expected and they are the 1%, they shouldn't dictate the destruction of our lives because they want more profits and wealth to hoard.

  • @DaveE99
    @DaveE99 3 года назад +13

    They always complain that higher minimum wages will cost jobs, we never seem to ask “should those jobs even exist?”

  • @englishbest
    @englishbest 5 лет назад +22

    According to the Peter Principle every person within a hierarchy gets promoted to the their level of incompetency where they are stuck. So most people more or less do nothing all day but look busy and meaningful.

  • @rational-public-discourse
    @rational-public-discourse Год назад +2

    This is great. I think the animation works much better than the real version. I wonder if David liked this. I suppose he got a kick out of it.

  • @bpetrushev
    @bpetrushev 3 года назад +11

    🖤 RIP David Graeber

  • @FISCHMANproductions
    @FISCHMANproductions 3 года назад +6

    What an amazing mind, RIP David ❤️

  • @fauziajasia2548
    @fauziajasia2548 2 года назад +3

    Why should a person's job or financial income be his/her most important identity??

  • @bathyprobe
    @bathyprobe 3 года назад +9

    I was searching for anything posted with his thoughts on the pandemic and what the lock downs revealed about bullshit jobs. Sadly I only find out that he passed away.

  • @elaksandra
    @elaksandra 4 года назад +6

    Please, enable closed captions! :)

  • @AB-fq4mr
    @AB-fq4mr 4 года назад +4

    I once worked in an insurance agency and stared at a white wall in an office with no windows. My job was to dial 250 phone numbers every day. You made $25,000 if you were good; otherwise it was just a revolving door. I quit this “job” and opened my own business, working 80 hours a week to build it up. Happy to say that 18 months into it I have passed a six figure net income. Long story short, open up your own business if your current job is slowly killing your soul. If it never gave you any sick days or health benefits, do you really have that much to lose anyway?

  • @applecom1de509
    @applecom1de509 5 лет назад +5

    Producing people yeah 🐼

  • @adambozs369
    @adambozs369 3 года назад +11

    RIP David .

  • @ShiggyBeatzProductions
    @ShiggyBeatzProductions 7 лет назад +33

    Work for survival in our society will always produce inefficient unfulfilling labor. Its a way of keeping the economy running by sacrificing some efficiency so the lower classes can survive and keep the economy afloat by being able to purchase goods. This is partially why Marx is so critical of class antagonisms. In order to survive we do inefficient work for a small wage in order to survive. Most of our labor is pointless to the survival of man and its needs of survival, but is necessary to feed ourselves. Most of our time is exploited and is a waste, but we have to play along in order to eat.

    • @kvaka009
      @kvaka009 6 лет назад +5

      Shigematzu interesting point. I just have one question: why?

    • @psoltan
      @psoltan 6 лет назад +8

      You obviously haven't lived in a third-world country where subsistence farming is the only option.

    • @namikkulenovic225
      @namikkulenovic225 3 года назад

      Your comment is much like rationalistic conspiracy theory ...

    • @sodalitia
      @sodalitia 3 года назад +3

      @@kvaka009 Simple: because the means of production are in the few hands of capitalists, so people are forced to work for them or starve.

    • @sodalitia
      @sodalitia 3 года назад +3

      @@psoltan There is nothing wrong with subsistence farming in poorer countries. There is everything wrong with western (US an EU) countries subsidizing their agriculture and fossil fuels to outcome poor countries production. You see, simple, subsistence economy is only hard, when the rest of the capitalistic world crushes you with their slave labor and market manipulation.

  • @spindlecitysister
    @spindlecitysister 3 года назад +3

    Thank you. This is wonderful.

  • @ZZ-fk4dm
    @ZZ-fk4dm 3 года назад +3

    RIP free spirit

  • @shr6482
    @shr6482 2 года назад +4

    Meaningful work can only be derived from outlining basic human necessities that does not put money as an end in of itself.

  • @kavijackson868
    @kavijackson868 5 лет назад +7

    Bravo!

  • @DerekFullerWhoIsGovt
    @DerekFullerWhoIsGovt 7 лет назад +2

    Wow..

  • @lemsip207
    @lemsip207 3 года назад

    Office Life by Keith Waterhouse about an office that served no end product or service.

  • @redactedcanceledcensored6890
    @redactedcanceledcensored6890 2 года назад +1

    TLDR: they pay you to be a punching bag for your boss who is a punching bag for their superiors, and so on.

  • @deletemymind565
    @deletemymind565 7 лет назад +11

    I think the use of the term "labor theory of value" is just misleading here.

    • @soilsurvivor
      @soilsurvivor 6 лет назад

      Perhaps "labor" and "work" are being conflated? "Work", as a physicist or engineer might see it, is synonymous with energy. "Labor" is a more homocentric form of the same thing: energy expended by (or required of) humans, to accomplish a task. Cryptocurrencies, generally (and bitcoin, specifically) derives its value directly from the amount of work (i.e. energy -- in this case electrical / computational) energy required to find a new coin. To wit: generate a random number where the first N bits are 0's. This becomes exponentially harder as N increases, and thus requires more computational energy to find them. Hence the value.

    • @Haden475
      @Haden475 6 лет назад +8

      Labor theory of value is basic Marxism: the use value of commodities is created by the expenditure of labor. Its pretty much all what Marx's Capital talks about.
      The contradiction that Graeber poses is that in a lot of jobs labor doesn't create any kind value because there is no production process. So then why do those jobs exist? Why must people spend time doing nothing to afford to feed their families?

    • @malteloman
      @malteloman 3 года назад +1

      @@Haden475 It's the labour simulation. Read manifesto againat labour by krisis gruppe.

  • @brendanwalsh5693
    @brendanwalsh5693 2 месяца назад

    Economics has one pretty big externality - psychology

  • @sussexseaangler1858
    @sussexseaangler1858 3 года назад +1

    Great thing about work is we are all multi skilled. During a lifes work. You can have many jobs ( and passtimes) which require a skill -l there are no limits to what you can learn. Every skill uou learn gives value and satisfaction to your self esteem. Its important to learn what benefits YOU personally. Great life to learn skills.

  • @chrisdoeller7332
    @chrisdoeller7332 6 лет назад +7

    I think Graeber is correct in his observations. The rise of education gospel and the faux idea that one cannot attain salvation (the 21st century's version of being born again) unless they have gone to college, has also generated a bumper crop of new cushy BS jobs. The two most infuriating aspects of this new phenomenon are...
    1. They pay well and are viewed by the public as being the "right jobs" for the "right people"
    who did the "right thing" and went to college, where as sh--t jobs are needed for the
    economy and most of our way of life to continue yet are less well paid, and less well
    treated on the job or in the eyes of society.
    2. These BS jobs are out there but can only be secured by certain people, as the new era of
    hiring practices have created so many barriers to employment that only those who are
    "just like" the people doing the hiring.

  • @varunbaboria24
    @varunbaboria24 3 года назад +4

    Production is about people.😳 Never thought it that way.

  • @algerbanane4521
    @algerbanane4521 5 лет назад +1

    but what could insentivise private companies to employ people that dont bring any more money ?? why would they do it ??

    • @johndaniel7944
      @johndaniel7944 3 года назад +3

      Status- In private bureaucracies, officials gain status by having more underlings work for them. To get prestige, they can hire people into useless positions to make themselves look important

  • @aidanbuckley9138
    @aidanbuckley9138 3 года назад

    fly high

  • @kroneexe
    @kroneexe 3 года назад +8

    rest in peace

  • @TheEpitome44
    @TheEpitome44 7 лет назад +13

    Perhaps -- somewhat ironically -- the human pyramid that occurs at the end of the video, revealing the message 'meaningful work for everyone', has a deeper truth; grand-scale art projects or other labour-intensive applications of large amounts of people are to be the new 'work'. Much like the pyramids of ancient Egypt, a colossal use of human labour, basically for the purposes of art.
    If we no longer need to farm our food, teach our children, keep track of our money, manufacture or even write software, when all of that is automated, we will need to be able to say, still, "I worked on that sculpture" or "I helped knit that enormous carpet".

    • @helphelpimbeingrepressed9347
      @helphelpimbeingrepressed9347 6 лет назад +5

      Well, I think we'll still need machine minders. You know like the guys that dislodge jammed boxes in the packing machine. So once we automate everything, get rid of trading & speculating with currency then we can divide all the machine minding jobs amongst ourselves so we work (lets be slave drivers here for the sake of argument, I suspect the actual figure would be much lower) say 20hrs per week for a universal income that we can spend on things we like/need (providing the resources are available to meet production) then we will be free to be human beings again = explore those hills you always drive past & think they're such a beautiful scene or paint a picture of said hills. Work on our personal relationships. As you mentioned create that sculpture or knit that carpet. Or pass on our passions to a new generation (like my passion for archery say) or pursue those passions in competition with others. We won't need to but we'll want to. Free range humans again, well a man can dream.

    • @MrScarecrow901
      @MrScarecrow901 6 лет назад +1

      I admire your optimism.

  • @nasr7341
    @nasr7341 7 лет назад +8

    I completely agree. Great video

  • @nickhurley2472
    @nickhurley2472 3 года назад

    I'm doing that right now... lol.

  • @lukewand
    @lukewand 3 года назад

    Well, that ship has sailed...

  • @karlalbert4969
    @karlalbert4969 2 года назад

    هل من وسيلة ربما رقمية بتقنية البلوك تشين
    كالعملات الرقمية مثلا لكي توضع كمقياس لقيمة عمل الأفراد كوحدة واضحة كالمتر
    والغرام والفولت تقيس القيمة بدقة أو بتقريب أو بمؤشر وتوضع في رصيد أممي متفق عليه عوضا عن الأوراق المالية فتجربة ورقة 100 دولار باتت واضحة في فضحها لوهم قيمة الورقة المالية التي ضحكون علينا بها وهي لاشيء الكل قدم خدمات وسلع من عمل بها وعادت لصاحبها

  • @minsapint8007
    @minsapint8007 2 года назад

    Liked the animation too.

  • @dogobritiargentino9434
    @dogobritiargentino9434 7 лет назад

    Answers below

  • @kavvayistories
    @kavvayistories 2 года назад

    Adieu David

  • @kforest2745
    @kforest2745 3 года назад

    The brain needs to eat, sleep, shelter and clothe itself. And corporations have no right to encroach on that family territory. I do real work in three days and accomplish way more helping my father provide heat for himself for the winter compared to getting nowhere at my job in a year and greedy corporations and gov like it that way. So I am bound to simply say f’off. Education is a huge waste of time unless it’s hospital, farming/grocery, fire department, police as actual necessities. High maintenance people trying to control everything is so phoney it’s pathetic disgusting and all just for useless profit. Frankly, I can’t believe men ever went along with it. I bet they change their mind and go back to having families and their own time.

  • @pillmuncher67
    @pillmuncher67 4 года назад

    Commulism!

  • @baxterwhite
    @baxterwhite 3 года назад +2

    Barter economy... time banks are the way to go. Utilizing skills to trade for favors. No bullshit there.

  • @AudioPervert1
    @AudioPervert1 6 лет назад +2

    enough wisdom for slaves ... lets talk about the value of ice cream and neighborhood bakeries ...

  • @Priprolionius
    @Priprolionius 7 лет назад +4

    could someone define "production of people"

    • @voltairinekropotkin5581
      @voltairinekropotkin5581 7 лет назад +12

      jens peter Matzen
      The processes by which people are socialised: education, upbringing, caring, and community-building.

    • @albin1568
      @albin1568 4 года назад +1

      you could also view it as the people which this system brings forth. We are the people we are, because of the system our ancestors have lived in. We have completely shifted gears in the last 1-200 years. Thus natural selection will cause people to adapt. Especially last 10 years with smart phones and internet. Certain personalities thrive and others don't. Thus we are changing the "average" human. Less empathic more narcissistic perhaps? future will tell.

  • @aravindakurati9396
    @aravindakurati9396 2 года назад

    Th8s video was fast

  • @SouthernInquirer55
    @SouthernInquirer55 7 лет назад +8

    The subject or title of this piece is practically the total substance of it. The balance is largely a compilation of popular social memes such as victimization and empowerment flash-carded at the viewer in an attractive and interesting photo-cartoon collage.
    Still, I applaud in it the identification of the core issue.. and that is 'people thrive on and need meaningful occupation that fulfills them personally and allows personal growth'. The history of these truths in public discourse goes back some time. Personally I can recommend; "Castles in Spain" John Galsworthy, 1927!

  • @7EiamJ7
    @7EiamJ7 3 года назад +2

    If a government gets bigger it creates rules and regulations that companies/businesses must follow, companies then employ people to ensure they comply with those rules, small businesses sometimes find it easier to sell/be absorbed by a larger company due to too many regulations.
    So regulations seem to be the issue.
    And maybe you should mix with less negative people.

    • @kkgauthier
      @kkgauthier 3 года назад +1

      Government has nothing to do with it. It's about where we choose to place value as a society.

    • @7EiamJ7
      @7EiamJ7 3 года назад +1

      @@kkgauthier you're talking about social engineering. Good luck dealing with those 5hat don't agree with your methods of achieving utopia.
      The driving force of evolution, ie who succeeded to get where we are today are those who prioritised self reliance and individual responsibility to ensure they passed on the best off spring to survive the environment, you can't socially engineer out that natural instinct without causing great mental issues. Happiest people around are those who know how to look after themselves and there loved ones without outside help.
      Dependence on the state is what we need to get away from.

    • @kkgauthier
      @kkgauthier 3 года назад +1

      @@7EiamJ7 First, no one mentioned a utopia, or any "methods" for getting there. The only action proposed was "hey! What if we stop believing the propaganda and traditional nonsense that allows a handful of people to force us into a position of submission and obedience?" " What if we decided to value things that matter, like creativity, and caring for people and the planet?" Mental illness, addiction and suicide BTW tend to be major problems at the top of the financial and corporate elite. Always have been.

    • @7EiamJ7
      @7EiamJ7 3 года назад

      @@kkgauthier caring for people is teaching them to look after themselves, not providing hand outs to create dependency.
      You know the saying give a man a fish, yadda yadda.
      And yes that is a utopian idea and the inly way to achieve it is to social engineer people to go against their natural born instincts.
      And no, many more mental issues on the bottom rungs.

    • @devinmcmanus
      @devinmcmanus 2 года назад

      @@7EiamJ7 Ironically, the existence of bullshit jobs creates a form of dependency where the people working them are dependent on them to survive. I think what Graeber means is that there are several jobs in our economy that could disappear tomorrow and no one would even notice. We have evidence that this is true thanks to the first few weeks of COVID lockdown. Overnight, thousands of people were forced to stay home and not work and the sky didn't fall. The question we need to ask ourselves is if people effectively produce nothing of value in these bullshit jobs would their time be better spent doing other things?
      "Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to fish, you ruin a wonderful business opportunity."

  • @Tassadar606
    @Tassadar606 2 года назад +1

    naw, its just response bias for the kind of people he meets and or asks, lol.
    It's also a function of decentralized labor supply and demand, more people are willing to be artsy, therefore you can pay them less and treat them worse.
    Now there is a rather huge principle actor problem in corporations where the executives are working to increase their personal power rather than profitability, and I think thats what he's getting at

  • @Onkarr
    @Onkarr 6 лет назад +12

    Abolish central banking and that would be a great start

    • @0MVR_0
      @0MVR_0 6 лет назад +4

      What would that solve?

    • @mikuhatsunegoshujin
      @mikuhatsunegoshujin 6 лет назад

      Anarchy, or at least anarcho-mutualism.

    • @rorschachsjournal2084
      @rorschachsjournal2084 4 года назад

      @@0MVR_0 socialism and communism.

    • @0MVR_0
      @0MVR_0 4 года назад +2

      @@rorschachsjournal2084 Even the responses are in disagreement.

  • @zapatasghost
    @zapatasghost 2 года назад +1

    Yyyuuup! Capitalism is allll about efficiency...😆 I love the "revolt of the caring classes..." I say we start with upending standardized testing in schools - get rid of Harcourt, Mifflin, NCS...that add no value to the schooling of any kid or to the quality of teaching in any classroom. The amount of time wasted by teachers, administrators, and other school officials on these tests is amazing...all to get test scores that we all know are not valid measurements of anything but the failure of the capitalist economic system.

  • @magerius
    @magerius 3 года назад +3

    Job = Paycheck.
    Value/Approval/fun = Activities outside of Job

  • @CobraABC
    @CobraABC 4 года назад

    Honest question: what is the value of an anthropologist in an anarchical society?

    • @malteloman
      @malteloman 3 года назад +7

      Ever heard of knowledge and or deliberation?

    • @sodalitia
      @sodalitia 3 года назад +4

      Your question is deeply dishonest. You are trying to imply that anthropologist is redundant in anarchy and follow with the fallacious conclusion that anarchy is wrong or not viable, because the idea was presented by a person that happens to be an anthropologist by occupation. That's ad hominem fallacy you are about to make. Secondly you make a black and white fallacy by associating value with what occupation tag someone has on themselves currently. In anarchy value is not predicated on how "productive" or "needed" for economy someones activity is. If it develops a person as a human it has a value in itself. In capitalism anthropologist is useful as long as it makes money for the university institution he works for. In anarchy being an anthropologist might or might not be useful, but its not measured by how effectively you can commodotise it.
      In one sentence you lie about your intentions, sneak in an ad hominem fallacy, black and white fallacy and ad hoc assertion that value of a human is defined by his occupation. Well done. You passed the baseline set for you by your capitalist overlords.

  • @MysticMuttering
    @MysticMuttering 2 года назад

    Labor under the current system is the curse of the caring classes

  • @dawnsilver4842
    @dawnsilver4842 3 года назад

    Let's all leave our jobs!
    ruclips.net/video/fevCv_CthPI/видео.html

  • @brucemarmy8500
    @brucemarmy8500 7 лет назад +4

    Not ideology, it's tax aversion. The employee as the only payer of corporate liabilities

  • @DeSoccerRefMan
    @DeSoccerRefMan 7 лет назад

    If you don't like what you do, do something you like

    • @JohnSmith-ru7fm
      @JohnSmith-ru7fm 6 лет назад +1

      Here here well said. All individuals have there own life to live. All they have to do is stop listening to others and go live it.

    • @0MVR_0
      @0MVR_0 6 лет назад

      Its not so easy for some people to just get up and go. They are trapped in debt and must work their way out even if that work is unfulfilling.

    • @JohnSmith-ru7fm
      @JohnSmith-ru7fm 6 лет назад

      Don't tell me student loans?

  • @MichaelGambill
    @MichaelGambill 7 лет назад +10

    Is this irony or another example of a "bullsh*t" job?

    • @tomio8072
      @tomio8072 5 лет назад

      what do you mean by that? i don't really get it :)

    • @malteloman
      @malteloman 3 года назад

      He has written a good book about it. Check it out.

  • @scottcollege213
    @scottcollege213 6 лет назад +1

    "I go to parties and people tell me they don't really do anything." Maybe try another party.

  • @lisap9258
    @lisap9258 6 лет назад +1

    And we blame immigration

    • @luisluis5306
      @luisluis5306 6 лет назад +4

      You can't have everyone who is poor in the world , just move to the rich countries . In order to continue this pyramid scheme nearly all of them have to stay where they are .

    • @danarves7452
      @danarves7452 3 года назад +2

      Luis, politicians actually want economic migrants to keep wages down and inequality rising. They could close borders easily. The blaming is simply to distract from their own corruption. It's basic capitalist populism :)
      The UK government actually produced a report that said that immigrants are a net economic benefit to the country, but suppressed it as it didn't fit the blaming narrative.

  • @gurkenhamster
    @gurkenhamster 2 года назад +2

    He argues against a strawman. The labour theory of value, as improved upon by Marx, has never taken the male factory worker to be emblematic of all work. It always took the reproductive labour as labour that has value, hence calling it "unpaid reproductive labour". There is no need for a "fix", Marxist Labour Theory of value is the most scientific economic analysis ew have.

  • @danilkopaskudnik3002
    @danilkopaskudnik3002 6 лет назад

    there is value in work? .... no way

  • @CorianderCivar
    @CorianderCivar 3 года назад

    Subtitles-David says androcentric not egocentric

  • @aomine6817
    @aomine6817 6 лет назад +2

    If communists after WWII didn't focus so much on military power and provided enough goods for citizens it wouldn't have to fail, with current technology it could actually be good
    I live in a town with a population of 30,000 and it's crazy how many small businesses open and die in less than a year, our supermarkets are underemployed with often only one checkout working and people work in factories for minimal wages for years, no pay rise at all

    • @sodalitia
      @sodalitia 3 года назад +1

      What communists? You mean the soviet state capitalists that competed with corporate capitalists in the west?

  • @dandy-lions5788
    @dandy-lions5788 7 лет назад +21

    As compelling as the sentiments in this video might feel like, the economics of your argument are flawed because it relies on the idea that that there is a separation between value and price or wage. For ages, debate raged about how price and value are related. This is famously illustrated in the paradox between the price and value of water versus diamonds. Karl Marx in particular argued for the labor theory of value, tapping into the intuitively sensible idea that something that requires great skill and exertion to craft is more valuable than something that is mass-produced. But there are a whole host of arguments about that theory's shortcomings, and contemporary economists have largely abandoned that theory. So his entire premise that we should "instill" value into work is fundamentally flawed. As counter-intuitive as this might sound, work, wage, and value are decoupled, have always been decoupled, and are only related insofar as they are dictated by the vagaries of the marketplace.
    While we're on the topic of Marx, what David Graeber describes as the social dissatisfaction with contemporary work is in line with Marx's idea of alienation. Marx had commented that Fordism would decouple the craftsman/factory worker from the fruits of his labor, robbing him of any sense of accomplishment that used to be inherent in production. I don't disagree with his sentiment here. But alienation depends on first subscribing to a labor theory of value - one only feels empty because one does not see oneself directly injecting value into their work. But think of the converse - the very fact that one is being paid to do something is in itself indicative that one is producing something (I don't use the world "value" here because what you're producing really isn't value). Would someone really be dumb enough to pay you if your labors didn't profit them? We are far removed from the fruits of our labor because of how efficient and specialized our economy is. Perhaps the solution to alienation is to first realize the counter-intuitive notion that value is not what we produce, and then step back and embrace the fact that being paid is proof in itself that one's work does something.
    Finally a note: David Graeber is not an economist, he is an anthropologist. He is also an anarchist and activist. I don't wish to reduce the meaning of what he is saying, merely placing his comments within a context that might help illuminate where he is coming from. His anthropology might be spotless, but that does not automatically make his economics sound.

    • @davidgraeber5046
      @davidgraeber5046 7 лет назад +23

      do you honestly think I haven't heard of the diamonds-water paradox?
      It's also obviously not applicable here and this has been demonstrated time and time again.
      I was not using the word "alienation" in the Marxist sense in that passage.

    • @SidV101
      @SidV101 7 лет назад +9

      Value isn't just dictated by the marketplace, it's dictated by culture. In economics we assume that people have underlying preferences that markets cater to, but those preferences are largely dependent on culture. The only problem I have with what David's saying here is that I don't see what mechanisms would cause our culture to shift towards valuing care work.

    • @SidV101
      @SidV101 7 лет назад +1

      The value of care work is low because there's a large demand for jobs that make people feel like they're making a difference in the world and not a lot of qualifications required to do such jobs, and there's a lot less supply than demand because these aren't super profitable ventures. How does a shift in companies' desire to supply such jobs happen?

    • @marconatalino
      @marconatalino 7 лет назад +5

      Have you never wondered where the marketplace "vagate" in order to "dictate" what is valuable? Also, do you really think someone who has written extensively on the theory of value does not understand the basic economic postulates you presented? Finally, why do you think he is advocating for a labour theory when he clearly said that it is wrong?

    • @steventing9238
      @steventing9238 7 лет назад +8

      "Would someone really be dumb enough to pay you if your labors didn't profit them" - Yes that happens all the time. Do you think a car salesman convincing you to pay $1000 more for a car has provided any extra benefit to the buyer apart from some smooth talk? You're basically saying people should be paid as much as they can trick other people into paying them. I'd love to hear some of this 'whole host' of economic arguments about the shortcomings of linking societal value provided to reward. I feel the decoupling you say is so well supported has led to some terribly parasitic behaviour (e.g. rentseeking and big polluters)

  • @psoltan
    @psoltan 6 лет назад +5

    I generally like David's ideas but I think his idea about the value of work is off. There has always been a correlation between pay and how "soul crushing" a job is. Hit men and prostitutes have always, and will always, make more money than teachers and care givers.

    • @reasonablespeculation3893
      @reasonablespeculation3893 6 лет назад +5

      psoltan ...is that why Sports Stars, Actors, Pop Stars and people involved in the Entertainment/ Amusement are industry paid so poorly? Is a Dentist's job, soul crushing??

    • @psoltan
      @psoltan 6 лет назад +3

      You obviously have no clue about the intense stress and "deals with the devil" that comes with the careers you mentioned. Dentists have a high suicide rate which should be an indicator of how unfullfilling that job can be.

    • @reasonablespeculation3893
      @reasonablespeculation3893 6 лет назад +1

      psoltan ..... Correct, I have no clue about NBA stars making a deal with the devil.... But I have heard rumors about guys spending 10 hours a day, doing back breaking work on a hot roof, for crap pay, being very fulfilled. ... .. Makes you wonder how the mining, oil/gas drilling and constructions trades matchup with the Medical professions when it comes to suicide.... take a look www.dentistrytoday.com/news/todays-dental-news/item/1098-suicide-and-dentistry-myths-realities-and-prevention

    • @FJBRDALLAS
      @FJBRDALLAS 6 лет назад +6

      But hit men and prostitutes are actually performing services needed, David is talking about a huge amount of people forwarding emails and making boring useless power-point presentations. I don't care if a prostitute makes more money than a teacher, but why should the junior east coast vision manager attache blah blah make more than a teacher?

    • @psoltan
      @psoltan 6 лет назад +1

      Every job exists because someone thinks it's a necessary job. If you're paying someone you must really want them to do that job. A job is "soul crushing" based on how little satisfaction we get from the job itself. To do a job we intrinsically hate requires getting paid more money to make it worthwhile. I've heard people refer to their jobs as "golden handcuffs" because they would love to quit it but can't give up the high pay.

  • @dragonore2009
    @dragonore2009 4 года назад +1

    So nothing practical or pragmatic? What a waste of time watching.

  • @GarethMayers
    @GarethMayers 7 лет назад +8

    from the moment he said women's work, i was like "what the hell, this is why they need trump."

  • @Iain1962
    @Iain1962 Год назад

    What absolute nonsense, he says companies don't pay people to do art....Just look around you...Everything has been designed, every company has a logo they use packaging, they make advertisements, art is everywhere in business. Translations? Well publishers do it all the time, as soon as you move into a new market with a new language you need everything translated ( you also maybe need new art).
    He is just making up nonsense. Work is an exchange, I need your labour and you need money, so we do a deal for as long is it suits us both.If you don't like the job you have a choice, just carry on and be miserable, save up and start your own business and hire some other people, leave and find another job.
    That's it, enjoy !!

  • @alanhowitzer
    @alanhowitzer 6 лет назад +2

    This guy is a liberal.

  • @Sagittarius-81
    @Sagittarius-81 5 лет назад

    This guy needs to think a little faster and talk a little slower.