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WouldaWork-FreeWorldBeSoBad?

Fearsofcivilization-wideidlenessarebasedtoomuchonthedownsidesofbeingunemployedinasocietypremisedontheconceptofemployment.

A1567paintingbyPieterBruegeltheElderdepictsamythicallandofplenty,wherepeoplegrowidleintheabsenceofwork.Wikimedia

·IlanaE.Strauss

·Jun28,2016

Peoplehavespeculatedforcenturiesaboutafuturewithoutwork,andtodayisnodifferent,withacademics,writers,andactivistsonceagainwarningthattechnologyisreplacinghumanworkers.Someimaginethatthecomingwork-freeworldwillbedefinedbyinequality:

Afewwealthypeoplewillownallthecapital,andthemasseswillstruggleinanimpoverishedwasteland.

Adifferent,lessparanoid,andnotmutuallyexclusivepredictionholdsthatthefuturewillbeawastelandofadifferentsort,onecharacterizedbypurposelessness:

Withoutjobstogivetheirlivesmeaning,peoplewillsimplybecomelazyanddepressed.Indeed,today’sunemployeddon’tseemtobehavingagreattime.OneGalluppollfoundthat20percentofAmericanswhohavebeenunemployedforatleastayearreporthavingdepression,doubletherateforworkingAmericans.Also,someresearchsuggeststhattheexplanationforrisingratesofmortality,mental-healthproblems,andaddictionamongpoorly-educated,middle-agedpeopleisashortageofwell-paidjobs.Anotherstudyshowsthatpeopleareoftenhappieratworkthanintheirfreetime.Perhapsthisiswhymanyworryabouttheagonizingdullnessofajoblessfuture.

Butitdoesn’tnecessarilyfollowfromfindingslikethesethataworldwithoutworkwouldbefilledwithmalaise.Suchvisionsarebasedonthedownsidesofbeingunemployedinasocietybuiltontheconceptofemployment.Intheabsenceofwork,asocietydesignedwithotherendsinmindcouldyieldstrikinglydifferentcircumstancesforthefutureoflaborandleisure.Today,thevirtueofworkmaybeabitoverblown.“Manyjobsareboring,degrading,unhealthy,andasquanderingofhumanpotential,”saysJohnDanaher,alecturerattheNationalUniversityofIrelandinGalwaywhohaswrittenaboutaworldwithoutwork.“Globalsurveysfindthatthevastmajorityofpeopleareunhappyatwork.”

Thesedays,becauseleisuretimeisrelativelyscarceformostworkers,peopleusetheirfreetimetocounterbalancetheintellectualandemotionaldemandsoftheirjobs.“WhenIcomehomefromahardday’swork,Ioftenfeeltired,”Danahersays,adding,“InaworldinwhichIdon’thavetowork,Imightfeelratherdifferent”—perhapsdifferentenoughtothrowhimselfintoahobbyorapassionprojectwiththeintensityusuallyreservedforprofessionalmatters.

Havingajobcanprovideameasureoffinancialstability,butinadditiontostressingoverhowtocoverlife’snecessities,today’sjoblessarefrequentlymadetofeellikesocialoutcasts.“Peoplewhoavoidworkareviewedasparasitesandleeches,”Danahersays.Perhapsasaresultofthisculturalattitude,formostpeople,self-esteemandidentityaretiedupintricatelywiththeirjob,orlackofjob.

Plus,inmanymodern-daysocieties,unemploymentcanalsobedownrightboring.Americantownsandcitiesaren’treallybuiltforlotsoffreetime:

Publicspacestendtobesmallislandsinseasofprivateproperty,andtherearen’tmanyplaceswithoutentryfeeswhereadultscanmeetnewpeopleorcomeupwithwaystoentertainoneanother.

Therootsofthisboredommayrunevendeeper.PeterGray,aprofessorofpsychologyatBostonCollegewhostudiestheconceptofplay,thinksthatifworkdisappearedtomorrow,peoplemightbeatalossforthingstodo,growingboredanddepressedbecausetheyhaveforgottenhowtoplay.“Weteachchildrenadistinctionbetweenplayandwork,”Grayexplains.“Workissomethingthatyoudon’twanttodobutyouhavetodo.”Hesaysthistraining,whichstartsinschool,eventually“drillstheplay”outofmanychildren,whogrowuptobeadultswhoareaimlesswhenpresentedwithfreetime.

“Sometimespeopleretirefromtheirwork,andtheydon’tknowwhattodo,”Graysays.“They’velosttheabilitytocreatetheirownactivities.”It’saproblemthatneverseemstoplagueyoungchildren.“Therearenothree-year-oldsthataregoingtobelazyanddepressedbecausetheydon’thaveastructuredactivity,”hesays.

Butneeditbethisway?

Work-freesocietiesaremorethanjustathoughtexperiment—they’veexistedthroughouthumanhistory.Considerhunter-gatherers,whohavenobosses,paychecks,oreight-hourworkdays.Tenthousandyearsago,allhumanswerehunter-gatherers,andsomestillare.DanielEverett,ananthropologistatBentleyUniversity,inMassachusetts,studiedagroupofhunter-gathersintheAmazoncalledthePirahforyears.AccordingtoEverett,whilesomemightconsiderhuntingandgatheringwork,hunter-gatherersdon’t.“Theythinkofitasfun,”hesays.“Theydon’thaveaconceptofworkthewaywedo.”

“It’saprettylaid-backlifemostofthetime,”Everettsays.HedescribedatypicaldayforthePirah:

Amanmightgetup,spendafewhourscanoeingandfishing,haveabarbecue,goforaswim,bringfishbacktohisfamily,andplayuntiltheevening.Suchsubsistencelivingissurelynotwithoutitsownsetofworries,buttheanthropologistMarshallSahlinsarguedina1968essaythathunter-gathersbelongedto“theoriginalaffluentsociety,”seeingastheyonly“worked”afewhoursaday;EverettestimatesthatPirahadultsonaverageworkabout20hoursaweek（nottomentionwithoutbossespeeringovertheirshoulders）.Meanwhile,accordingtotheBureauofLaborStatistics,theaverageemployedAmericanwithchildrenworksaboutninehoursaday.

Doesthisleisurelylifeleadtothedepressionandpurposelessnessseenamongsomanyoftoday’sunemployed?

“I’veneverseenanythingremotelylikedepressionthere,exceptpeoplewhoarephysicallyill,”Everettsays.“Theyhaveablast.Theyplayallthetime.”Whilemanymayconsiderworkastapleofhumanlife,workasitexiststodayisarelativelynewinventioninthecourseofthousandsofyearsofhumanculture.“Wethinkit’sbadtojustsitaroundwithnothingtodo,”saysEverett.“ForthePirah,it’squiteadesirablestate.”

Graylikenstheseaspectsofthehunter-gathererlifestyletothecarefreeadventuresofmanychildrenindevelopedcountries,whoatsomepointinlifeareexpectedtoputawaychildishthings.Butthathasn’talwaysbeenthecase.AccordingtoGaryCross’s1990bookASocialHistoryofLeisureSince1600,freetimeintheU.S.lookedquitedifferentbeforethe18thand19thcenturies.Farmers—whichwasafairwaytodescribeahugenumberofAmericansatthattime—mixedworkandplayintheirdailylives.Therewerenomanagersoroverseers,sotheywouldswitchfluidlybetweenworking,takingbreaks,joininginneighborhoodgames,playingpranks,andspendingtimewithfamilyandfriends.Nottomentionfestivalsandothergatherings:

France,forinstance,had84holidaysayearin1700,andweatherkeptthemfromfarminganother80orsodaysayear.

Thisallchanged,writesCross,duringtheIndustrialRevolution,whichreplacedfarmswithfactoriesandfarmerswithemployees.Factoryownerscreatedamorerigidlyscheduledenvironmentthatclearlydividedworkfromplay.Meanwhile,clocks—whichwerebecomingwidespreadatthattime—begantogivelifeaquickerpace,andreligiousleaders,whotraditionallyendorsedmostfestivities,startedassociatingleisurewithsinandtriedtoreplacerowdyfestivalswithsermons.

Asworkersstartedmovingintocities,familiesnolongerspenttheirdaystogetheronthefarm.Instead,menworkedinfactories,womenstayedhomeorworkedinfactories,andchildrenwenttoschool,stayedhome,orworkedinfactoriestoo.Duringtheworkday,familiesbecamephysicallyseparated,whichaffectedthewaypeopleentertainedthemselves:

Adultsstoppedplaying“childish”gamesandsports,andthestreetsweremostlywipedcleanoffun,asmiddle-andupper-classfamiliesfoundworking-classactivitieslikecockfightinganddicegamesdistasteful.Manysuchdiversionsweresoonoutlawed.

Withworkers’oldoutletsforplayhavingdisappearedinahazeoffactorysmoke,manyofthemturnedtonew,moreurbanones.Barsbecamearefugewheretiredworkersdrankandwatchedliveshowswithsinginganddancing.IffreetimemeansbeerandTVtoalotofAmericans,thismightbewhy.

Attimes,developedsocietieshave,foraprivilegedfew,producedlifestylesthatwerenearlyasplay-filledashunter-gatherers’.Throughouthistory,aristocratswhoearnedtheirincomesimplybyowninglandspentonlyatinyportionoftheirtimemindingfinancialexigencies.AccordingtoRandolphTrumbach,aprofessorofhistoryatBaruchCollege,18th-centuryEnglisharistocratsspenttheirdaysvisitingfriends,eatingelaboratemeals,hostingsalons,hunting,writingletters,fishing,andgoingtochurch.Theyalsospentagooddealoftimeparticipatinginpolitics,withoutpay.Theirchildrenwouldlearntodance,playinstruments,speakforeignlanguages,andreadLatin.Russiannoblesfrequentlybecameintellectuals,writers,andartists.“Asa17th-centuryaristocratsaid,‘Wesitdowntoeatandriseuptoplay,forwhatisagentlemanbuthispleasure?

’”Trumbachsays.

It’sunlikelythataworldwithoutworkwouldbeabundantenoughtoprovideeveryonewithsuchlavishlifestyles.ButGrayinsiststhatinjectinganyamountofadditionalplayintopeople’sliveswouldbeagoodthing,because,contrarytothat17th-centuryaristocrat,playisaboutmorethanpleasure.Throughplay,Graysays,children（aswellasadults）learnhowtostrategize,createnewmentalconnections,expresstheircreativity,cooperate,overcomenarcissism,andgetalongwithotherpeople.“Malemammalstypicallyhavedifficultylivingincloseproximitytoeachother,”hesays,andplay’sharmony-promotingpropertiesmayexplainwhyitcametobesocentraltohunter-gatherersocieties.Whilemostoftoday’sadultsmayhaveforgottenhowtoplay,Graydoesn’tbelieveit’sanunrecoverableskill:

It’snotuncommon,hesays,forgrandparentstore-learntheconceptofplayafterspendingtimewiththeiryounggrandchildren.

Whenpeopleponderthenatureofaworldwithoutwork,theyoftentransposepresent-dayassumptionsaboutlaborandleisureontoafuturewheretheymightnolongerapply;ifautomationdoesenduprenderingagoodportionofhumanlaborunnecessary,suchasocietymightexistoncompletelydifferenttermsthansocietiesdotoday.

Sowhatmightawork-freeU.S.looklike?

Grayhassomeideas.School,foronething,wouldbeverydifferent.“Ithinkoursystemofschoolingwouldcompletelyfallbythewayside,”saysGray.“Theprimarypurposeoftheeducationalsystemistoteachpeopletowork.Idon’tthinkanybodywouldwanttoputourkidsthroughwhatweputourkidsthroughnow.”Instead,Graysuggeststhatteacherscouldbuildlessonsaroundwhatstudentsaremostcuriousabout.Or,perhaps,formalschoolingwoulddisappearaltogether.

Trumbach,meanwhile,wondersifschoolingwouldbecomemoreaboutteachingchildrentobeleaders,ratherthanworkers,throughsubjectslikephilosophyandrhetoric.Healsothinksthatpeoplemightparticipateinpoliticalandpubliclifemore,likearistocratsofyore.“Ifgreaternumberso