I often daydream about how society would be if we were not forced by society to pigeon hole ourselves into a specialized career for maximizing the profits of capitalists, and sell most of our time for it.

The idea of creating an entire identity for you around your “career” and only specializing in one thing would be ridiculous in another universe. Humans have so much natural potential for breadth, but that is just not compatible with capitalism.

This is evident with how most people develop “hobbies” outside of work, like wood working, gardening, electronics, music, etc. This idea of separating “hobbies” and the thing we do most of our lives (work) is ridiculous.

Here’s how my world could be different if I owned my time and dedicated it to the benefit of my own and my community instead of capitalists:

  • more reading, learning and excusing knowledge with others.
  • learn more handy work, like plumbing and wood working. I love customizing my own home!
  • more gardening
  • participate in the transportation system (picking up shifts to drive a bus for example)
  • become a tour guide for my city
  • cook and bake for my neighbors
  • academic research
  • open source software (and non-software) contributions
  • pick up shifts at a café and make coffee, tea and smoothies for people
  • pick up shifts to clean up public spaces, such as parks or my own neighborhood
  • participate in more than one “professions”. I studied one type of engineering but work in a completely different engineering. This already proves I can do both, so why not do both and others?

Humans do not like the same thing over and over every day. It’s unnatural. But somehow we revolve our whole livelihood around if.

  • Mudface@lemmy.world
    1311·
    10 months ago

    The reality of capitalist economies has turned out to be: Living in the freest and richest nations the world has ever seen. If you’re too hot you can set the thermostat to cool down and if you’re too cold you can just turn the heat up.

    You have ample choices for food, leisure and activity. More than anyone else has ever had in all of human history.

    You only need to work a fraction of an hour for a meal, instead of all day long (and often working for days on end and not ever bringing home anything to eat)

    You’re the most comfortable any human has ever been. Surviving is so easy for you, you feel the need to complain that ITS NOT EASY ENOUGH.

    • nicktron@kbin.social
      122·
      10 months ago

      Tell everyone you’ve never had to experience hardship without telling everyone you’ve never had to experience hardship.

      Millions of Americans have to choose between feeding themselves and housing themselves. You are hardly the “freest” country, haha. Richest? Sure just like every other wealthy country, the vast majority of the wealth is held by the people who tell you how to live your life.

      Get a grip pal.

      • Mudface@lemmy.world
        49·
        10 months ago

        What’s your expectation? You want to be the richest man in the world? Do you want everyone to be equivalent to the richest man in the world?

        You’re not making any sense. We all experience hardship.

        I’m not American, but what I’m talking about applies to Americans, or anyone in a wealthy western country.

        The poverty of western countries isn’t even real poverty. What looks poor to you and I is luxurious to true poverty, or to our ancestors.

        • hoodatninja@kbin.social
          8·
          10 months ago

          What’s your expectation? You want to be the richest man in the world?

          The fact that you are asking this as an absurd question while not recognizing this is exactly the false prize capitalism promises everybody is kind of incredible.

          What’s the line? “No one is America is poor. They’re just temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” Which is why some of the lowest earners in our country still somehow think Elon Musk pays too much in taxes.

          • Mudface@lemmy.world
            26·
            10 months ago

            Seriously, what is your expectation? What standard of living and what level of effort are you not reaching, or are extending too much effort to achieve?

            Why is life not coming close to satisfying you? Is it because people have more than you do? Is it because people have less?

            I think stating expectations is pretty important.

            Me? I want to earn enough to support myself, my family a couple of dogs, have two cars and a house and raise smart and healthy and vibrant children.

            I want a lifestyle where I can travel once in awhile, I can pay for the things I enjoy in my leisure time and recreation.

            I want to send my kids to summer camp and soccer and gymnastics, I want to buy my wife things she likes for Christmas and birthdays and anniversaries.

            If I want all of these things, I have to go out and get them. If I wait for the government to give them to me, they’ll never come.

            Now are your expectations in line with, or above or below what mine are? Does it bother you that people have more than you do?

            I don’t need a yatch, or my own spaceship. I wouldn’t even know what to do with those things if I did have them.

            • hoodatninja@kbin.social
              5·
              10 months ago

              I’m not sure you’re responding to the correct person as I have no idea what prompted those questions and this has literally nothing to do with what I said. When did I say my life wasn’t good enough? Or anything about the broad standard of living where I live?

    • matcha_addict@lemy.lolOP
      32·
      10 months ago

      If you’re too hot you can set the thermostat to cool down and if you’re too cold you can just turn the heat up.

      I sure am thankful for HVAC technology, and the development of science and human technology in general that has been happening since way before capitalism.

      You have ample choices for food

      I love the agricultural revolution from hundreds of thousands of years ago! And tractors.

      You only need to work a fraction of an hour for a meal, instead of all day long

      Okay now, pre-industrial societies did not work an entire day for a single meal lmao. That’s something you’d see in capitalism or slavery. The vast majority of human history did not involve that much work.

      You’re the most comfortable any human has ever been.

      Thanks for technological advancements and not-capitalism!

      . Surviving is so easy for you, you feel the need to complain that ITS NOT EASY ENOUGH.

      What a boomer statement lmao. Isn’t it ironic that you complain about other people critiquing society, and lash out in caps lock? What if I told you that people have critiqued society since antiquity? I highly recommend you pick up a book. You’ll learn something or two!

      • iegod@lemm.ee
        1·
        10 months ago

        Just a heads up you are both discussing in bad faith and neither of you will make any strides with the other.

        • matcha_addict@lemy.lolOP
          11·
          10 months ago

          You can summarize my argument in two:

          • no, these things are not attributed to capitalism. They were not a direct cause of capitalism. They occurred during capitalism (and some did before).
          • complaining about people complaining about society is not even an argument worth responding to, let alone arguing it’s some recent phenomenon when you can easily verify it has happened for as long as we’ve had writing.