While r/antiwork raises crucial points about fair wages, reasonable hours, and humane working conditions, its more radical fringes seem to advocate for a life entirely devoid of labor.
This ignores the inherent human need for purpose, contribution, and the sense of accomplishment that meaningful work can provide.
A society where everyone aims for complete detachment is economically unviable. Furthermore, for many, engaging in productive activities, whether paid or unpaid, fosters personal growth, social connection, and a sense of self-worth that complete idleness may not offer.
The focus should be on better work, not necessarily no work.
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I fully agree. Even animals need to “work” in order to survive.
The definition of self fulfillment and contribution to society is much more deep and complex than just blatant labor. You can still contribute to society whilst not working for wage if you think outside the box
From all according to ability, to all according to need.
Purpose and contributing within and for the community through productive activities is different than “work”. The latter is intended as using employees’s individual strengths and resources in order to make a profit, production is meant to reach a profit. That is what the antiwork movement is against. Antiwork doesn’t mean fulltime-leisure
Massively popular opinion, though…
If you’re looking for insane conversation with a person who is completely detached from reality, make a heterodox comment in r/antiwork.
so i’m happy for anyone who derives “purpose contribution and the sense of accomplishment” from selling garbage to idiots or getting screamed at by hungry idiots but i’m also certain the vast majority of people do not get any of those things from 80% of available jobs.
you say it’s economically unviable to survive without work and yes that’s correct for now, hopefully one day automation can free humans from the chains of a having a shitty meaningless miserable and all time consuming job.
I always think the hypocrisy from anti work types is hilarious.
They dont want to work but they’re happy to live off those who do
That’s not what they’re saying. They’re saying it’s okay to work if you want to. It’s okay to raise a family if you want to. It’s okay to take a year off if you want to.
They’re saying that economic output is not necessarily the only barometer to determine if someone’s work is “valuable”. Best example is a stay at home parent. Their work is crucial, yet we don’t consider it work experience or worthy of receiving economic compensation in the general culture. Look at how stay at home dads are treated in particular, how being a father is secondary to being the breadwinner, and of course mothers who look to reenter the work force have to leave out they took time to raise their children, instead it’s an awkward question about the “gap in their resume”. Also gaps in resumes are seen as a cause for concern cuz you weren’t “employable” for a year, evoking a negating connotation.
So, no the antiwork movement isn’t about letting people lounge around. It’s about letting people not to.have to solely give their time and energy, instead allowing people to balance different facets of their life as they see fit.
Anti work isn’t about “not working”, it’s about resisting the system that compels you to be exploited by the owning class. It’s anti work in the context of the modern definition of “work”, which excludes things like stay-at-home parents for instance. You could say raising your kids and keeping your house in order is not “productive”, because it doesn’t directly contribute to GDP (which is our holy deity, apparently).
This isn’t unpopular, r/anti work used to be a place to discuss legitimate concerns but now is just a bunch of lazy bums