David Graeber

From bestselling writer David Graeber, a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs, and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After a million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are millions of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation.

A Theory

Bullshit Jobs

The idea that half the working class (those with bullshit jobs) hate autoworkers and teachers due to moral envy is just kind of assumed to be true here with no evidence because it's convenient to Graeber's thesis. I honestly feel like the reality is the exact opposite of what he's saying here.

Soham Dasgupta

Unionized autoworkers and teachers perform a vitally necessary function, yet have the temerity to demand middle-class lifestyles. They are objects of a special ire, I suspect, by those trapped in soul-destroying low- and middle-level bullshit jobs.

so far a tedious read and not fully convincing, but he made points here

In fact, if we are simply talking about teaching students about efficient work habits, the best thing would be to leave them to their studies [...] Schoolwork has real content. One must attend classes, do the readings, write exercises or papers, and be judged on the results. But in practical terms, this appears to be exactly what makes schoolwork appear inadequate to those authorities—parents, teachers, governments. administrators—who have all come to feel that they must also teach students about the real world. It’s 

 results-oriented. You can study any way you want to so long as you pass the test. A successful student has to learn self-discipline, but this is not the same as learning how to operate under orders.

'Spectacular and terrifyingly true' Owen Jones 'Explosive' John McDonnell, New Statesman, Books of the Year 'Thought-provoking and funny' The Times Be honest: if your job didn't exist, would anybody miss it? Have you ever wondered why not? Up to 40% of us secretly believe our jobs probably aren't necessary. In other words: they are bullshit jobs. This book shows why, and what we can do about it. In the early twentieth century, people prophesied that technology would see us all working fifteen-hour weeks and driving flying cars. Instead, something curious happened. Not only have the flying cars not materialised, but average working hours have increased rather than decreased. And now, across the developed world, three-quarters of all jobs are in services, finance or admin: jobs that don't seem to contribute anything to society. In Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber explores how this phenomenon - one more associated with the Soviet Union, but which capitalism was supposed to eliminate - has happened. In doing so, he looks at how, rather than producing anything, work has become an end in itself; the way such work maintains the current broken system of finance capital; and, finally, how we can get out of it. This book is for anyone whose heart has sunk at the sight of a whiteboard, who believes 'workshops' should only be for making things, or who just suspects that there might be a better way to run our world.

Altay

Patrick Book

Every job is bullshit, but it turns out a lot of jobs are I guess double bullshit or something.

David Graeber thinking out loud. A few interesting points/observations. IMO, this book also shows his lack of understanding of microeconomics and certain technical fields. At least, this was the case for my domain of expertise. Much easier to digest compared to other books. Nice thought exercise.

Alican Sungur

Asim Gasimzade

This book contains a lot of good ideas but at the same time, the author assumes and suggests a lot of things that are backed by nothing other than "feelings" and testimonials of random people.

I enjoyed this book and agreed with the overall message, I personally don’t think It needed to be this long of a book to get that point across to readers. 

Chinaidette 

It’s fine, but it feels like he was struggling to turn his original essay into a full length book. A bit repetitive.

Wonko the Sane

Im Jahr 1930 prophezeite der britische Ökonom John Maynard Keynes, dass durch den technischen Fortschritt heute niemand mehr als 15 Stunden pro Woche arbeiten müsse. Die Gegenwart sieht anders aus: Immer mehr überflüssige Jobs entstehen, Freizeit und Kreativität haben keinen Raum – und das, obwohl die Wirtschaft immer produktiver wird. Wie konnte es dazu kommen? Stimmen zum Buch »Eine Einladung zum Umdenken.« Business Bestseller »Drastische Ideen, spannend zu lesen!« P. M. »Nach der Lektüre ist man regelrecht berauscht von den originellen wie provokanten Gedanken« Tobias Wenzel, Deutschlandfunk Kultur »Das Allerschönste an David Graebers Buch ist, dass einem da einer aus dem Herzen spricht.« Bettina Weber, Sonntagszeitung

Vom wahren Sinn der Arbeit

Bouke van der Bijl

Pretty good book about some jobs being useless, as judged by the people themselves. Apparently in the Netherlands 40% of people surveyed said their own job is useless.

Not sure what I took from the book however.

EDIT: wow the author died the same day I posted this review. Rest in peace

Mounir Bashour

I have been going on for 10 years about bullshit jobs and the creation of unnecessary rules and regulations. What a pleasure to find a scholar who has taken up my pet peeves as his life work. Thank you David. Perhaps one day I can join you in helping eliminate these issues from our world.

Katie Chua

I will read everything David Graeber has written

Ivan Zarea

I’m usually not a fan of books that started out as an essay, but this one surprised me in a good way. It’s not just a here’s-a-thesis-and-a-thousand-examples kind of book, it actually picks some of those examples apart, questions itself and moves on to describe a better future. Cool.

Andres Leon

It was good, but the second half got boring

Laura Leila Marta

Ivaylo Durmonski

Bullshit jobs exist and will continue to thrive because we value the wrong things. We’re species obsessed with gaining more shiny objects and showing off in front of others.

The majority of the products that are available for purchase are useless or simply another version of something already existing. But that’s what people want – variety. We want novelty. We want attention. At least that’s what we think we want.

In all of the interviews shared in the book, a common theme appears from the depressed people doing a worthless job: “I contribute nothing to the world!”

Beneath our desire for attention and a fancy title is hidden our desire for purpose. For doing something that matters in the world and actually feeling that this thing you’re doing is somehow helping humanity.

Key takeaway:

You have two options. Option A: You can get a sexy high-paid job in an office and spend your whole life doing utterly meaningless tasks. Option B: You can engage in no so extravagant job that comes with a significantly lower paycheck but fills your body and soul with purpose.

While the first option is the common path, the second option is the one that has the potential to make you not only widely successful but also incredibly satisfied with what you’re doing.

Read full summary:
https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...

This book is both hilarious and concerning. I first heard the term "Bullshit Job" in Utopia for Realists. As I read more about the researches and people's experiences, it made me feel uncomfortable in a positive ("someone needs to change something, huh?)" manner. 

The truth is no matter what skillset you have, or how good you are, utilizing them on things that create no social value makes your job a bullshit one (unless you say otherwise). 

Navigating through the hows and whys of the topic with an anthropology professor helps greatly to make meaning of how we got where we are. 

David doesn't defend or try to impose an ideology. Instead, he gives us some space to face how royally fucked up we are. I liked his skepticism and honest behavior when it comes to offering solutions. 

"This is a book about a problem – one that most people don't even acknowledge."

Asha Sidhu

Hakan Erbas

Alexis Wiseman

Emily Wood

David Bielenberg

'Spectacular and terrifyingly true' Owen Jones 'Thought-provoking and funny' The Times Up to 40% of us secretly believe our jobs probably aren't necessary. In other words: they are bullshit jobs. This book shows why, and what we can do about it. In the early twentieth century, people prophesied that technology would see us all working fifteen-hour weeks and driving flying cars. Instead, something curious happened. Not only have the flying cars not materialised, but average working hours have increased rather than decreased. And now, across the developed world, three-quarters of all jobs are in services, finance or admin: jobs that don't seem to contribute anything to society. In Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber explores how this phenomenon - one more associated with the Soviet Union, but which capitalism was supposed to eliminate - has happened. In doing so, he looks at how, rather than producing anything, work has become an end in itself; the way such work maintains the current broken system of finance capital; and, finally, how we can get out of it. This book is for anyone whose heart has sunk at the sight of a whiteboard, who believes 'workshops' should only be for making things, or who just suspects that there might be a better way to run our world.

Philipp

From bestselling writer David Graeber—“a master of opening up thought and stimulating debate” (Slate)—a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs…and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After one million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are hordes of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. “Clever and charismatic” (The New Yorker), Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation and “a thought-provoking examination of our working lives” (Financial Times).

Bullshit Jobs A Theory

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