Greetings good citizen, Happy Saturday! In the halcyon days of Futurist past, our forefathers predicted shorter work weeks/days but, perhaps ironically, none of them foresaw today's 24/7 shopping/retail markets.
Were they gifted with an understanding we lack or was it the fact that all the laws ever written, good or bad, remain on the books today? Which is to point out the prohibition against Sunday sales (in our majority Christian nation) were seen as sancrosanct/involable.
Probably not too surprising that those who believed everything would be automated also believed the Sabbath (at least the Christian one) would remain...holy/off limits?
Which is to point out yet another reality that has crept into our everyday existence...having it both ways.
Not that I'm picking on anyone's religious beliefs. I am like the defenders of free speech (which we all know is an oxymoron at best.) Which is to say, I may not agree with your version of 'Spirit in the Sky' but I'll defend your right to believe in s/he/it with my dying breath.
Me, I don't have any truck with Spirit in the Sky, I have no use for a supreme being that would let a place like this exist in the first place never mind letting it rot, neglected like this existence has.
Make no mistake about it, good citizen, God ain't gonna get you, it's those who claim to speak for him you have to watch out for.
But I digress [like screaming off the reservation digress...apologies.]
I was headed toward those abbreviated workdays/weeks our futurist forebearers foresaw that never materialized and I got sidetracked by the 24/7 retail world that none of them saw coming...because of their devout dedication to the supreme being.
From a 'need fulfillment' basis, the more 'hands' you have available, the quicker a task can be accomplished [although it does create the phenomenon of 'too many hands', which interfers with 'efficiency'.]
Worse, our efficiency obsessed capitalists fail to see the circular relationship between worker/customer. I'm sure most of you are aware you need a job to procure what you need in this whacky world of ours, but far too many CEOs believe 'customers' (especially paying them) are someone else's problem.
Worse, these same nitwits consider workers a liability, it is any wonder you can't live on what you're paid now, never mind half that [due to reduced hours]?
You're literally taking up the slack for the customers they can't employ. How's that for a kick in the pants? Half the workforce is destitute and you're paying more than you should because the stupid capitalist won't hire more workers and shorten your workday.
Now I have the dog chasing it's own tail! The problem isn't 'too many workers' the problem has ALWAYS been 'skinflint capitalists'.
Not that the problem goes away by simply dealing with the mismanagement that created the problem in the first place (and you know this means every 'business major/MBA' is a MORON [but you knew that already too, didn't you?] In order to shorten the work week and enfranchise all workers we'd need to create a 'sustainable' economy where everybody pulls their weight, something the current system can't accomodate.
So this wasn't exactly a post about our future but it hopefully goes a ways towards explaining how past futurists got it so wrong.
Until next time, good citizen,
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner
Were they gifted with an understanding we lack or was it the fact that all the laws ever written, good or bad, remain on the books today? Which is to point out the prohibition against Sunday sales (in our majority Christian nation) were seen as sancrosanct/involable.
Probably not too surprising that those who believed everything would be automated also believed the Sabbath (at least the Christian one) would remain...holy/off limits?
Which is to point out yet another reality that has crept into our everyday existence...having it both ways.
Not that I'm picking on anyone's religious beliefs. I am like the defenders of free speech (which we all know is an oxymoron at best.) Which is to say, I may not agree with your version of 'Spirit in the Sky' but I'll defend your right to believe in s/he/it with my dying breath.
Me, I don't have any truck with Spirit in the Sky, I have no use for a supreme being that would let a place like this exist in the first place never mind letting it rot, neglected like this existence has.
Make no mistake about it, good citizen, God ain't gonna get you, it's those who claim to speak for him you have to watch out for.
But I digress [like screaming off the reservation digress...apologies.]
I was headed toward those abbreviated workdays/weeks our futurist forebearers foresaw that never materialized and I got sidetracked by the 24/7 retail world that none of them saw coming...because of their devout dedication to the supreme being.
From a 'need fulfillment' basis, the more 'hands' you have available, the quicker a task can be accomplished [although it does create the phenomenon of 'too many hands', which interfers with 'efficiency'.]
Worse, our efficiency obsessed capitalists fail to see the circular relationship between worker/customer. I'm sure most of you are aware you need a job to procure what you need in this whacky world of ours, but far too many CEOs believe 'customers' (especially paying them) are someone else's problem.
Worse, these same nitwits consider workers a liability, it is any wonder you can't live on what you're paid now, never mind half that [due to reduced hours]?
You're literally taking up the slack for the customers they can't employ. How's that for a kick in the pants? Half the workforce is destitute and you're paying more than you should because the stupid capitalist won't hire more workers and shorten your workday.
Now I have the dog chasing it's own tail! The problem isn't 'too many workers' the problem has ALWAYS been 'skinflint capitalists'.
Not that the problem goes away by simply dealing with the mismanagement that created the problem in the first place (and you know this means every 'business major/MBA' is a MORON [but you knew that already too, didn't you?] In order to shorten the work week and enfranchise all workers we'd need to create a 'sustainable' economy where everybody pulls their weight, something the current system can't accomodate.
So this wasn't exactly a post about our future but it hopefully goes a ways towards explaining how past futurists got it so wrong.
Until next time, good citizen,
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner
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