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Antiwork

“Come work with us. We’re like family,”

is the reason people join gangs. If you're a visitor to the idea of desperation, I invite you to look at your own life. Perhaps you have some kind of family that helps you when you are in need. Unfortunately, not everyone does. It's common to question why people turn against each other, instead of against the people at the source. People ask just how poverty leads to crime, and why people don't steal from the rich instead. This is about life and death, not a political statement. When a riot breaks out, there will be looters because that can extend life another few weeks. People do get criminal records, and that can just mean they fell into desperation with no net one too many times. The idea of being part of something that treats you “like family” is genuine, but rarely does a company actually invest in an employee…


is the reason people join gangs. If you're a visitor to the idea of desperation, I invite you to look at your own life. Perhaps you have some kind of family that helps you when you are in need. Unfortunately, not everyone does.

It's common to question why people turn against each other, instead of against the people at the source. People ask just how poverty leads to crime, and why people don't steal from the rich instead. This is about life and death, not a political statement. When a riot breaks out, there will be looters because that can extend life another few weeks. People do get criminal records, and that can just mean they fell into desperation with no net one too many times.

The idea of being part of something that treats you “like family” is genuine, but rarely does a company actually invest in an employee as a person first, rather than as a tool. It is possible to treat an employee like family, but it is quite difficult. Just look at how difficult it is to run a family business, due to the emotions involved.

We recognize that “like family” cannot be enforced in a practical sense at every company, because ultimately, even in an equitable business, it would be most efficient for everyone to do what they do best. That is specialization, and that will lead to people being unsuited for their roles.

For whatever reason, it is also common to suggest that a nation should be run like a business. This idea baffles me. Employees can be terminated from their positions because they're unsuited for the task. Should we terminate the citizenship of our countrymen just because we don't like working with them? Running a nation like a business, in our current economic environment, would mean criminalizing thought as treason.

I suggest running the nation like a family. If your sibling was dying of cancer, and all they needed was readily available treatment, wouldn't you do what you could to help out? Picking and choosing about things like who gets what actually leads to less overall wealth. We have known this for ages. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. A dysfunctional family will generally not find success in business. The more we assist each other, the better off we'll all be.

Don't dream of riches, because riches just means you get the best of modernity. The middling offerings of tomorrow make the best of modernity look like trash. Dream of equality because equality is genuinely in your own interests. The more togetherness you achieve, the more power you will hold.

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