Re:Be careful how you pay the bills
by ModernMech on Wednesday July 20, 2022 @02:52PM
(#32170458)
Right, I would define something like getting an education to be work, because it’s done with the intention of bettering one’s self to better society; while going around and breaking all the windows in town just to be paid to fix them again is not work, even if some individual ends up getting rich in the process. It’s a net loss for the rest of us.
I guess from a physics pov it all depends how you define the boundary of the system, and I draw it at a society level.
Re:Be careful how you pay the bills
by AnIdiotOnTheNet on Wednesday July 20, 2022 @02:48PM
(#32170403)
I would say it is precisely exactly the same in the vast majority of cases. These jobs exist to help some rich fucks extract even more value from society in a way that benefits them personally at the expense of society. They are worse than useless, they are actively making the world worse.
That isn't the same as "employing someone just to keep them busy", though. They are employing them to make more money; it just so happens that the work they are doing doesn't actually provide value to society.
It might seem like a minor distinction, but I think it matters when trying to understand the motivations involved.
However, they are clearly providing value to SOMEONE. The person paying your wife gets more value (money) than they pay your wife to do the job. They aren’t trying to keep her busy, they are trying to make money.
You could call this rent seeking, which is a completely fair criticism. It just isn’t the same as ‘make work’ that is simply trying to keep someone busy. They are trying to extract value in a way that is not good for society as a whole.