Just for context, I’m pretty privileged. Not so much that I don’t need to work, but enough that I’ve been able to wrangle six figure starting salaries in two industries. That being said, I know I’m far from the most exploited people out there. But believe it or not I’ve really struggled for a long time.
I’ve had bosses call me an idiot daily. I’ve had a company tell me that I was moving to another country for work with less than a week’s notice. I’ve had a boss fire my entire department and tell me I would do all of their work with no pay increase. I’ve had a boss threaten to demote me for not doing a task which was verifiably impossible… And no matter how well compensated I may have been, my mental health has nose dived from these things.
I quit my most recent job last year and at this point the idea of working for anyone gives me pretty bad anxiety. When I get rejections from prospective employers I feel relief.
I’ve felt strongly for a long time that the working world is broken. It’s never made sense to me how so many people tolerate being treated like trash for so much of their lives. Life is short, and precious. Most jobs I’ve seen or heard of have always seemed like they’re scheme for exploiting people.
Seeing my perspective echoed since the pandemic has been one of the few gratifying side effects of this disaster. I’m sure nearly everyone who visits this subreddit feels the same. Still, I feel dissatisfied. Quitting, or not working, is a form of protest sometimes but I think more often than not it’s an acknowledgment of our value as laborers, and subsequent leveraging of that value.
If I could say that another way, it’s folks saying, “I know I’m worth more to you than you let on” to the ruling class. But I feel a deep apprehension about that tactic. I feel like even allowing a ruling class to exist is and always will be a catastrophe. By definition they’re not beholden or accountable. How can we expect to bargain with them? Perhaps they’ll raise wages. perhaps they’ll improve benefits. Ultimately in our hearts and in our collective understanding of history, we know they’ll take everything they can as long as they’re allowed to exist.
What does it even mean to abolish them? I don’t know. There’s a hundred other important questions I don’t know the answers to either but something has to give. I know people are thinking the same. I see the guillotine memes. I don’t think that’s the answer but if we continue to do little more than trickle out of the labor market then I’m afraid we will see another violent class war.
TLDR: jobs suck. Life shouldn’t. Having a ruling class is a recipe for ruin. What should we do?