Long post warning, no tl;dr.
The focus of this post is to generate discussion around avenues of action for those that wish to make changes to the job market at large. I understand that this is r/antiwork and my focus seems the opposite, but please bear with me as I explain.
One of the undeniable driving emotions behind an antiwork sentiment is a sense of pointlessness to one's actions. In short, no effect, no interest. Without some effect, both intrinsic and extrinsic, a person will see their effort as wasted. In the modern world, this sentiment of needing an observable desired outcome from one's work hinges primarily on payment; we wish to gain social reward from our social contribution.
I could write a novel surrounding the barriers between an ideal system and our world's current implementation, but I want to focus on one aspect: the power we collectively hold as the social members that are not in positions of consolidated power through familial, business, or political ties. i.e. how can we as the average people build the system we want? We sure as hell don't need the other peoples' permission or blessing!
So, how do we do it? I don't necessarily want to use the language of “getting organized” or project an ideology; people will organize themselves around their philosophies without prompting. However, we do need a collective approach to building a better system for ourselves at scale. To that end, what scale should we be aiming for? Litigation and legislation? Individual gatherings? A loose network of collaborators? And to what end would we be directing our efforts? Not necessarily working, per se, but change does require effort.
It's a nice sentiment to say that we want more pay, for example, without further detailing the how and why. Would it be best to rally under legislation aimed at (all examples) UBIs and minimum wages based on cost of living? Or perhaps we all collectively agree, where we have the power to do so, simply to begin raising each other's and our own pay. If so, how? Are there business owners that share the sentiments of paying their workers $40/hr at full time as a starting wage? Could small businesses possibly rally behind out-competing big businesses through wages? I'm sure a smooth talking investor type has an idea or two about some society level fund that pays out to everyone. Not saying it's a bad idea, just that I'm skeptical, lol.
I want to be clear that I welcome the floor to work abolitionists; I agree that not everyone should work and that work should not be required. To be blunt, I'm a sucker that actually enjoys putting in effort for someone else in exchange for a reward. Yet even I don't want to do it all the time. I'd be thrilled to get a UBI that met my needs while I sit at home for a few months at a time between projects. Hell, I have a spouse that chooses not to work and what bothers me isn't that they don't work, but that we live in a society that devalues them for not working and places greater demands on us for them not working because of the expectation that they are. They just want to have a garden and maybe make custom candles for others from time to time.
So with that, what are your thoughts and feelings on how we, the average people, could begin enacting the societal changes we desire around work/antiwork? What actions can we engage in to bring about the change we want? Complaining may make us feel better in the moment, but action will change our future.
Thank you!