One of the most insightful and liberating books I've ever read. Graeber unrolls a convincing and substantial critique of the dire state of employment, and our modern conceptions of work. I only wish I'd read it sooner.
Ignore the reviews saying the book is just a rehash of his 2013 essay or that it doesn't really go anywhere. They must not have gotten very far, as the book spends about 2 chapters on classifying BS jobs and the rest on a deep dive into the effects of pointless employment, the political and cultural reasons that it might exist, and the way that "jobs for the sake of jobs" damages us. It then takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the history of managerialism, the roots of "the protestant work ethic" and how it informs some of the ideas that proliferate this type of employment. It ends on what might be done about the situation. It interrogates directly some of the unspoken assumptions about work and human nature itself we've been socialised to accept at face value.
There are also other reviews complaining the book doesn't back everything up with numbers, a sadly common complaint in a world where political and rhetorical literacy is dead. Despite the fact the book does actually use quite a few graphs and figures to inform its argument, its main strength is of course the rigourous qualitative analysis Graeber engages in, as should be expected in a book about human social structures and organizations. How do you come up with a number to show how many people don't actually need to be employed? (Beyond asking them of course, as the book does.)
The book was also just a joy to read. Graeber's work is never dry, he really channels his animated way of speaking and thinking into the text.
Read this book if you've ever felt like something is wrong with your job, or the modern workplace. In fact, read it even if you don't. You'll learn a lot either way.
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Popular highlights in this book
We have become a civilization based on work—not even “productive work” but work as an end and meaning in itself. We have come to believe that men and women who do not work harder than they wish at jobs they do not particularly enjoy are bad people unworthy of love, care, or assistance from their communities. It is as if we have collectively acquiesced to our own enslavement.Highlighted by 725 Kindle readers- A human being unable to have a meaningful impact on the world ceases to exist.Highlighted by 713 Kindle readers
- For instance: in our society, there seems to be a general rule that, the more obviously one’s work benefits other people, the less one is likely to be paid for it.Highlighted by 605 Kindle readers
From the Publisher
37% people in the UK believe their jobs don't make a meaningful contribution to the world
'There is something very wrong with what we have made ourselves.
We have become a civilisation based on work—not even “productive work” but work as an end and meaning in itself. We have come to believe that men and women who do not work harder than they wish at jobs they do not particularly enjoy are bad people unworthy of love, care, or assistance from their communities. The main political reaction to our awareness that half the time we are engaged in utterly meaningless or even counterproductive activities is to rankle with resentment over the fact there might be others out there who are not in the same trap. As a result, hatred, resentment, and suspicion have become the glue that holds society together.
This is a disastrous state of affairs. I wish it to end. If this book can in any way contribute to that end, it will have been worth writing.'
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Top reviews from other countries
Enrique Popoca
Te cambia la forma de ver las cosas
Reviewed in Mexico on 12 February 2024André
En mycket tänkvärd bok med en träffande titel.
Reviewed in Sweden on 21 March 2023
MichaelInThePNW
Absolutely captures the reality of "professional" work today
Reviewed in the United States on 29 October 2020