Book review

Utopia for realists – Bullshit jobs

 ‘And now for something completely different’ (to borrow a Monty Python phrase) , in this case a double review. Each of these books is based on the John Maynard Keyes’ 1930 prediction than by this century everybody would be working a fifteen hour week. The predicted rise in production has happened , but everybody remains working as in the 1930s so why has Keyes’  prediction not come about? they ask.

Utopia for realists  ‘ This book is brilliant. Everyone should read it’ is Richard Wilkinson, author of The Spirit Level’s , assessment of  Utopia for realist – and I agree with him.  Author Rutger Bregman is a leading Dutch philosopher and economist who spells out a new way forward from the long held and debated Left/Right stances with fresh thinking and evidence based arguments.

Working from the obvious, that the world’s distribution of wealth is out of kilter (  in New Zealand 0.02% of the population hold 24% of the wealth) he proposes – and clearly illustrates – a fairer wealth distribution system.  Rutger Bregman shows that he has a knowledge of the technical aspects of basic incomes and an ability to clearly describe the mathematical aspects  of the subject . The beauty of the proposals is that they are not overly disruptive and have been tested in small scale trials and been found to work.  

Bullshit Jobs author, a professor of anthropology at London University David Graeber, argues that the problem is one which many people don’t acknowledge exists I.E totally useless jobs. Jobs which he considers to fall into the category are ones which contribute nothing and would make no difference if they were not there. Paying for these positions is carried by the real earners forcing them to unwittingly work longer hours  to do this.

The useless jobs fall into five general categories each of which are described with actual quotes from some of the people who are engaged in them. 

A survey carries out in Briton by YouGov asking ‘Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world?’ found that 37% did not think it did  with a further 13% not sure. The survey in Holland found that 40% felt that their job had no reason to exist. 

Appraisal of a number of offices’ activities showed that only 39% of the time was actually spent on the office’s primary duties. 

 He explains how these jobs which he considers to be unnecessary came to be along with quotes from people engaged in them. If anything I would say that  there are ta few too many of such examples.

Both books are free of academic jargon, informative and pleasant to read and both unexpectedly end by coming to the same conclusion 

Mike Beckett

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