"Freedom From Work"

[sathor]

http://expressiveegg.org/2016/09/18/freedom-from-work/

Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... some valid points there, but embedded in so much emotive language and other fallacious logic that it's not easy to see them.

Really, this piece would be an excellent assignment for a class in critical analysis. It would be fascinating to see how different people broke it down.

What about you? What's your take on it?

[sathor.livejournal.com]

Well, I've written something twice now only to have Google Chrome eat it, so here's a short answer:

Yeah, tons of charged language in it but I think his most important idea (from my perspective) is solid, although probably easily missed - the fact that the commons, resources, and the means of production are privately/professionally owned is basically the biggest reason why there's such a huge power/work/wealth differential between working class people and the elite. Working class people are dependent on the owners of that commons and of that production, while the elites are dependent on no one and no thing, as long as the system of law and government serves their ends, and as long as people do not band together and collectively bargain. Which is why "being born wealthy" is one of the "ways out" he gives - because it is by far one of the most common ways, and the most statistically likely as well.

The last three pages have some great quotes from famous past authors, but the essay itself just feels like fluff. The first page is a bit more on point, I'd say.