Work and Consumption
Based on section 3, part 4 of Why Grow Up
Work is a dominant part of most of our lives. We ask young children what their “dream job” is, or what they want to be when they grow up. Our childhoods and young adult lives are spent in school, learning skills and earning a diploma, all in preparation to enter the workforce. Many teenagers work part-time jobs as soon as they can drive themselves, or even earlier. When we meet people, we ask what they do for work shortly after learning their name and hometown, presumably because somebody’s job says something about their character or personality. According to Gettysburg College, we spend 90,000 hours of our lives at work. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many philosophers throughout the ages have tackled the concept of work and labor and what makes it meaningful. This blog post will explore many of those philosophers, as well as what I will call “the problem” of modern work, how it ties into the issue of overconsumption, and a look into a Christian theology of work that I believe redeems a lot of the pitfalls in the modern struggle we see nowadays.
Aristotle and Plato
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, both Aristotle and Plato reflected the “ancient Mediterranean ideal” of productive, skilled labor as well as a balance that allows for leisure and freedom. They both believed that life was best devoted to contemplation, but likely understood that this was not realistic for most people. Aristotle asserted that theōria, the Greek word for contemplation, is the “activity of god.” He also acknowledged a sort-of hierarchy of productivity, with theōria on top, followed by praxis, characterized as action, doing, practice, or business. Susan Neiman points out in Why Grow Up that modern conceptions of productivity have reversed this value. Activity, rather than contemplation, is what gives us economic and practical value nowadays. Workers are paid for the amount that they can suitably produce for the company. Not many of us can sit around and contemplate life for extended amounts of time without losing something, whether valuable time spent working, resting through sleep or leisure, or preparing for the next day’s tasks. While I do believe contemplation is important, I would not argue that it is the “activity of god.” It can certainly bring us closer to God, or what somebody personally believes in terms of spirituality, but many thoughts are only as good as our actions reflect them. Doing things is truly valuable, even if not for any sort of economic gain. Activity is not automatically on a lower tier than contemplation.
Source for both images: Britannica
Immanuel Kant
According to Kant, action gives life meaning. He says that a rich man who does nothing with his talents, facilities, gifts, etc. is neglecting his fundamental duty to the rest of humanity since he is squandering a valuable opportunity that not everybody has. In “A Kantian Theory of Meaningful Work,” Norman E. Bowie argues that Kant would agree with around six principles for what makes work truly meaningful: “freely entered into,” allows for “autonomy and independence” as well as development of “rational capacities,” sufficient wages, contribution to “moral development,” and noninterference with happiness goals.
Here is a passage from his Lectures on Pedagogy, quoted in Why Grow Up:
“Just as false is the idea that if Adam and Eve had only remained in paradise they would have done nothing there but sit together, sing arcadian songs, and observe the beauty of nature. Certainly boredom would have tortured them just as much as it does other people in a similar situation. The human being must be so occupied that he is filled with the purpose that he has before his eyes, in such a way that he is not conscious of himself at all, and the best rest for him is one that comes after work.”
I think this passage, as well as likely Kant’s philosophy as a whole, gets to a more realistic, and meaningful, approach to work than that of Aristotle and Plato. Maybe it is simply because he is much more recent than they are, and has caught a glimpse of what modern-day lives look like today. I appreciate that he discusses the importance of rest that follows work. I believe that whenever work is discussed, rest must be discussed as well, for both are equally important. Source for image: Wikipedia
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Hegel argued that work is important because it conforms us more into the image of God, because when we work, we are giving form to matter. It is our responsibility, given to us by God in the first few chapters of Genesis, to create and foster the world in a way that reflects our talents and His glory. In Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, according to Why Grow Up, he posits that a slave actually wins out over his master, because while in status he is lower, he is doing the real, meaningful work that propels humanity forward. I think Hegel is on the right track. Productive work is often creation, modeling after the Genesis story. Additionally, I think his point that the slave actually wins out over the master is an important one to think about. In society today, we typically value CEOs, commanders, generals, etc. Those who have made it to the top. However, the ones generally doing the work that keep the company, business, etc. going are the minimum-wage workers, whoever is at the bottom of the tiers. This idea can also contribute to a good view of servant-leadership. Those willing to serve (not reflected by the inhumane, compulsory slavery practices reflected at points in human history) get more value out of work from those who want people to serve them. This does not mean all CEOs or those with high positions are necessarily like the latter, many ascend to the ranks and serve everybody below and above them.
Source for image: Britannica
Karl Marx
The controversial Karl Marx argues that our ability to work makes humans different from other species, because while other animals may work in some way, only humans own the means of production for ourselves. Because he believed that owning the means of production was distinctly human, and therefore sacred, the idea of laborers selling their time and energy to a distant CEO who owned the means of production was robbing humanity of something divine. It deprives the workers of the fruits of their valuable labor. He envisioned a society where people could work to maximize their gifts and develop their talents without being exploited. Though a staunch atheist, he believed work went beyond just a necessary evil of the human life.
Source for image: Britannica
Hannah Arendt
Insightfully, Arendt differentiated between labor and work. According to Why Grow Up, she believed that activity is essential for the human life. She said that “work and its product…bestow a measure of permanence and durability upon the futility of modern life and the fleeting character of human time.” Essentially, the fruits of our labor make life worth living since it creates something essentially permanent from our lives, which would otherwise be almost meaningless without something to show for it. Her differentiation between labor and work comes from this perspective: while labor is simply what someone does to survive (put food on the table, pay the bills, etc.), work is a reflection of the divine within us. Work is free and divine, and is the way we care for the next generation. I will touch more on Arendt later, as I believe her ideas contribute wonderfully to a Christian perspective on work that I subscribe to.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Quoted in Why Grow Up: “But in society, where he necessarily lives at the expense of others, he owes them the price of his keep in work. This is without exception. To work is therefore an indispensable duty for man. Rich or poor, powerful or weak, every idle citizen is a rascal.”
Rousseau, in addition to positing that work is what an individual owes back to a society in which we necessarily depend on the work of others, advocated for trades. Trades (like carpentry, blacksmithing, etc), according to Rousseau, always fulfilled real needs, rather than relying on a demand for false ones. One who has mastered a trade is not at the mercy of anybody else for their livelihood. Rousseau’s idea that work must be done out fundamental duty to the rest of humanity could be a slippery slope, in my opinion. Children and elderly people cannot work, and live at the expense of those who care for them. This does not mean they are rascals. There are people who may possess a certain talent, but lack the resources to reach their highest potential. There may be people with physical or mental inhibitions that prevent them from fully repaying their “debt” to society. Not everyone may enjoy the talents that they have been given, and would rather pursue something they have to work harder at. Additionally, repaying your debt to society as motivation for your work is not likely to be sustainable. There is no societal standard and measuring system, at least there should not be, that determines what each human life is worth in terms of hours of labor or production value.
Source for image: Britannica
The Modern Problem
As discussed extensively above, work is a highly philosophical topic, and it is important to derive meaning from it. However, it is harder and harder in the modern age to find fulfilling work. In his book Growing up Absurd from 1960, Paul Goodman said that “...what troubles adolescents is the fact that there is no decent work to grow up for.” Keep in mind that this was written 64 years ago. Before social media, cell phones, and AI technology. “...Grownup work would be unquestionably useful, and it would require energy, spirit and the use of our best capacities; work, that is, that can be done with honour and dignity. Fewer jobs than ever meet these criteria; most involve doing things that are patently useless, possibly harmful, certainly wasteful, and demeaning and dumb to boot.” And it has only gotten worse.
How It Ties Into Overconsumption
As many of the philosophers discussed above would likely agree, modern work is characteristically unfulfilling because it does not produce useful goods anymore. Most modern work consists of some or multiple aspects of manufacturing false needs, advertising them, and selling them. Professions like teachers, farmers, cooks, etc. have been around forever. While they may be negatively impacted by technology, they will continue to be necessary, productive, and likely fulfilling for those who choose to pursue them. However, jobs like telemarketers or advertising experts are relatively new and part of this cycle feeding into false needs. German philosopher Theodor Adorno, who lived from 1903-1969, said that “economic production is no longer a means to good lives; our lives have become means to the smooth functioning of production, sales, and consumption.” The problem with modern work is that the purpose of production has become reversed from serving us to us serving production. And we are almost forced to feed into it by also being the overconsumers of these products. These jobs are unfulfilling because it is not how it is supposed to be. It makes human beings slaves to a system we created, rather than masters of our own destiny.
Case in Point
In Why Grow Up, Neiman discusses an incident that I believe perfectly exemplifies why modern industry no longer provides fulfilling job opportunities for us. In 1924, a group of lightbulb manufacturers got together in Paris and decided to reduce the number of hours their standard bulbs would function from about 2,400 to 1,000. The fundamental goal of manufacturing has changed from producing quality product to fulfill customer needs, to making the most amount of money. Those who did not reduce the number of hours their bulbs would function were fined. Humans cannot possibly be truly fulfilled by doing work that simply feeds into our own unhappiness and unsustainability.
Source for image: Uncommon Goods
“Planned Obsolescence”
The concept exhibited by this story is “planned obsolescence,” which according to Oxford Dictionary, is “a policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and so require replacing, achieved by frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of nondurable materials.” Bernard London coined the term and argued that it would be a good thing in circumstances like the Great Depression when jobs were needed and planned obsolescence would create a constant need for jobs. However, it has become normalized even during times of economic stability. The term “planned obsolescence” has been slowly replaced by the more benign-sounding “product life cycle.”
Source for image: Reliance Foundry
The Supreme Court
Various Supreme Court rulings throughout history have given corporations more leeway in what they can accomplish. While some of them, no doubt, have been good, there are several that may cross important boundaries. Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road gave corporations 14th Amendment protections under the law. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruled that corporate spending, as well as spending by other “collective entities” was free speech, and therefore protected under the First Amendment, granting a company the same rights as the individual. This blurring of the lines between the individual and the corporation, as well as giving the corporation as a whole the same amount of power as the individuals that make it up, could represent a contribution to the corporate takeover of the United States.
Craftsmanship
Another problem with modern work is that craftsmanship, like that Rousseau spoke highly of, is harder to effectively practice. Craftsmanship has been reduced to a hobby, or “something done as diversion by young children or Alzheimer’s patients precisely because they produce nothing of value.” This leads to a widespread loss of self-esteem and perceived reduction in value of workers. Mass production encourages product be made as fast and cheap as possible, almost the antithesis of the meticulous, artistic goal of the craftsman. There are seldom opportunities for craftsmen to survive in this economy without being independently wealthy enough to support themselves and/or their families. Quality materials are harder and harder to source responsibly. Workers are no longer artists each in their own right. They are means to an end, and that end is the economic good of the corporation.
Source for image: Open Door Furniture
Arendt & a Christian Philosophy on Work
Jumping back to Hannah Arendt: Even as a non-Christian, she made points about work and labor that point directly to why I believe that a Christian theology of work can and will be redeeming. Arendt argued that work creates permanent meaning to otherwise fleeting human life. Therefore making things we know will “die” just like us (experience their so-called “product life-cycle,” aka planned obsolescence) is unnatural. In a Christian sense: we are made in the image of God, made for meaningful work, called to reflect the glory of God in all that we do, leaving an eternal mark.
(Note that while Arendt distinguished between labor and work, and I think that it was an interesting, valuable distinction, I will be using the two interchangeably.)
Matthew 6:19-21 ESV: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
God created (worked) as well as rested. Work, contrary to common perceptions of the Genesis story, is not a punishment for the Fall in the Bible. It is a divine task given to us when Eden was still Paradise, without imperfections.
Genesis 2:15 (ESV): “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”
John Piper, American theologian and pastor, said in an interview that work in this way was “a God-like gift, a blessing…work, as God designed it before the fall into sin, was creativity: creative, productive doing, arranging, making.”
Work is part of who we are. We are called to tend and keep our gardens, our lots in life. The “curse” that accompanies work is the toil, not the work itself.
Genesis 3:17-19 (ESV); “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Toil, as I see it, essentially breaks down to the labor not being on par with the output. Energy, time, money, etc. being lost by some disruption in the process. The fruits of our labor not reflecting the effort that was put in. This may be a problem even in the noblest of jobs, yet God and the entire story of the Bible is characterized by redemption. Meaningful, God-glorifying work can be found in many places, even today.
And make no mistake – you do not have to be a minister, missionary, martyr, pastor, nonprofit owner, full-time volunteer, or some noble pursuit of the like for your work to be meaningful to God, and/or to yourself and the world around you.
Finding Meaningful Work
Daniel Miller argued, quoted in Why Grow Up, that even some “modern” jobs can be crafts and therefore be meaningful:
“When Donald describes his work, it is largely managerial. No one would consider a buyer for a retail chain as a craftsman. Yet I have no hesitation in using this term to describe what Donald is. A retail buyer has the capacity to become a craftsman, because he occupies a critical position, with responsibility to find the best possible fit between two complex processes: that represented in production and that in consumption ... For some people, perhaps for most people, this is merely a job. But I have no doubt that for Donald it is a craft. It requires skill, elegance, imagination, hard patient labour, experience, and then responsibility for action ... It is not pottery making, it is not proletarian, but it is labour and there can be a joy of it, and Donald lives that joy.”
From this passage, we can ascertain certain characteristics of work that can make any job meaningful.
Requiring skill, elegance, imagination
Requiring due effort (hard patient labor)
Requiring experience
And responsibility for action
We need not stress about finding work that society perceives as “truly” mattering more than others. Sure, you may want to look beyond the assembly line or the suffocating cubicle if you will be discontent with that, like many of us are. But you can find meaningful work – and for Christians, glorify God – just as well whether you are a police officer, college professor, insurance agent, construction worker, public school teacher, stay-at-home mom, HR representative, line cook, janitor, and any other number of jobs. Like I said before, you do not have to be a missionary, martyr, or minister for your work to be truly noble.
Colossians 3:23 (ESV): Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
As a summary, in a way that I believe can be extremely valuable for both Christians and non-Christians alike, John Piper outlines principles for what makes work truly for the glory of God in the interview linked here, based on the verse quoted above.
Don’t aim to impress others. Very simply, this is a good principle for anybody.
Really mean the good that your work is aiming to do. Believe in it. Whether that is simply paying the bills or serving an entire community, take pride in the purpose of your job.
Fearing the Lord. While an important principle for Christians that increases desire to do work with excellence, this obviously does not apply to unbelievers. While Christians should deeply respect and fear God, the creator and sustainer of all things, nobody should work out of fear of the wrath of a fallible CEO. However, respect for your superiors who have earned their statuses is important for everyone. This will likely increase your ability to do your work with integrity and ease the toil.
Work hard. People always say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. While many people may not love what they do at its essence, like flipping burgers or doing tax forms, it is important to at least love the good that your work is aiming to do. This should motivate anybody to work hard. Hard work necessitates sweet rest, and gives us life satisfaction.
"According to Kant, action gives life meaning"-- but it's worth reflecting on the fact that the action of Kant's life was contemplation, which includes thinking, writing, teaching, communicating...
ReplyDelete"Though a staunch atheist, [Marx] believed work went beyond just a necessary evil of the human life."-- Why would we expect an atheist to think otherwise? In my experience, atheists work as hard as anyone, and find it as meaningful (or not). (Just wondering about the sense of your qualifying "though"...)
"[Arendt's] ideas contribute wonderfully to a Christian perspective on work"-- ironic, since she was an agnostic humanist.
"every idle citizen is a rascal"-- Every permanently (and able-bodied) rascal, perhaps, but there's much to be said for the perspective defended by Bertrand Russell "In Praise of Idleness"... https://www.themarginalian.org/2018/12/27/in-praise-of-idleness-bertrand-russell/
...and others on the (occasional) value of doing nothing. https://bookriot.com/books-about-doing-nothing/#:~:text=Autopilot%3A%20The%20Art%20%26%20Science%20Of,our%20packed%20routines%20more%20often.
That last point of Piper's is indeed not for us humanists. As Kurt Vonnegut put it: “I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of rewards or punishments after I am dead.”
DeleteBut whatever view elicits one's own best humanitarian efforts, contributions, and life satisfaction, I'd say, pays its way.
Very thorough discussion. Well done.