Wednesday, April 13, 2011

gainful employment

Excerpt from the book - The failing logic of money by Duane Mullin

We exchange our time for money at a task we may or may not enjoy; this is called gainful employment. The money received is never enough because it is as little as the employer can get away with to pay taxes (usually paid first), accommodation and food. We often work 40 years at the end of which we are only tired, broke, not always with a guaranteed adequate pension and the money we are able to save is subject to tax and inflation. We are now discarded to feed for ourselves just as any slave was hundreds of years ago, uncertain that we will have access to the bounty that surrounds us and meet our needs. 

Because we don't think there's any other way, and have nowhere to run, we content ourselves with a bit of time off now and then and polite treatment from our employers. We stick at the task, whilst the corporation prospers, because we don't recognise our options. 

--

I absolutely agree to the above. And at times I do think in the same way that we are not choosing our options right. The same questions linger in me - Why does this continue? Why is it that intelligent humankind has been unable to solve the simple matter of caring for our own and our environment? And it is true that our current system is clearly failing us, yet no-one does anything to change it. 

Srik

2 comments:

SuZ said...

I disagree a little. This theory will work if there were less number of humans. Not everyone can choose what they can become. We need people to do boring work. The number people getting into unwanted employment may be more, that percentage can come down, but if evrybody starts thinking in that way then existing system will come crashing down. We just too many of us!

Srik said...

Well. I partly agree to the fact that we just too many of us.

But the context here was the 'money'. Why do corporations exist? why do we work for them? and how do they pay us? what is the logic behind it? It is a beautiful book to understand the logic.

But I strongly feel, it is the system that made us like this. And I do believe everyone can choose what they can become. We cannot be saying what others should do. For me it is completely wrong.