Re:Timekeeping in Financial Exchanges
by jlokier on Monday October 12, 2020 @02:11AM
(#24751849)
By that argument, any kind of "make work", doing something pointless, provides value to society as a side effect.
For example: Consider a job going to the office to write on pieces of paper and then throw those pieces of paper into the incinerator so nobody will ever read what was written.
Sounds pointless. Is it "providing value"?
By your argument yes: All those people were paid and can now support their families. The paper makers made paper and advanced the state of the art in fine paper-making, as did the pen makers and the ink makers. The incinerator is looked after, and it keeps new incinerator designers in work. All the fuel which is mined to run the incinerator keeps miners busy. All the commuting to the office and back keeps train operators busy.
And yet, going to the office to write things on paper and then destroy them repeatedly does seem rather pointless.
For example: Consider a job going to the office to write on pieces of paper and then throw those pieces of paper into the incinerator so nobody will ever read what was written.
Sounds pointless. Is it "providing value"?
By your argument yes: All those people were paid and can now support their families. The paper makers made paper and advanced the state of the art in fine paper-making, as did the pen makers and the ink makers. The incinerator is looked after, and it keeps new incinerator designers in work. All the fuel which is mined to run the incinerator keeps miners busy. All the commuting to the office and back keeps train operators busy.
And yet, going to the office to write things on paper and then destroy them repeatedly does seem rather pointless.