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Bullshit Jobs
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
From bestselling writer David Graeber, a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs, and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs. It went viral. After a million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are millions of peopleHR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyerswhose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of societys most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation.
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CRR
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

I don‘t remember where I first heard about this book but I was certainly intrigued by the title. The author is humorous and enjoyable to read. It is a very thorough book full of a lot of information. Talked about BS jobs and shared personal insights from interviews. It got a little long for me toward the end but I am glad to have pushed through. Enjoyable book.

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natashalb
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

The rise of pointless work ("bullshit jobs"), how we got there and what can we do about it. Extremely well timed reading as the pandemic has especially pointed out the need for more personal freedom and flexibility in the workplace...

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A.M.Pozon
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
Pickpick

It's good book. Very well written and well researched. It made me think about the jobs I've had in the past. Especially now what's happening in the job market and the mass resignation throughout the country.

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GaelenCMS
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
Pickpick

Simultaneously very readable and deeply researched and thorough. Didn‘t just make me think about the jobs I‘ve worked in a new light but also about the entire structure of work in our society and how it could be different and better for everyone.

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jenniferw88
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Do you mean the book that I have just finished reading or the one that I'm currently reading?! 🤣🤣🤣

Finished: Political Aide to MP
Current read: Daughter of King, about to become wife of heir to a throne.

#scarathlon #teamslaughter @Clwojick

37pts +1 = 38pts

GlassAsDiamonds Oh kill me - Capturing the Devil: trainee coroner 😱😱😱😱 4y
azulaco Antiques dealer! Yessss! 4y
CogsOfEncouragement Wedding Planner 4y
See All 15 Comments
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks An actress!! 4y
Emilymdxn I‘m reading two books so I either speak and write freelance about living with schizophrenia (interesting but I‘m not rly qualified) or I‘m... Jean Valjean so I guess I‘m just being a good person on the streets of Paris? 4y
jenniferw88 @Emilymdxn 🤣🤣🤣 4y
LibrarianRyan Honestly I have no idea. The dad has the job where he is always asking questions like “what do you think about disposable diapers“ Mom is a 60's housewife. It's cute but all of us have been wondering. I am suggesting an investment banker, and one other book club person thinks Sales. who knows. 4y
IuliaC Psychotherapist 😄 4y
Zoes_Human A celibate monk-wizard that wields sleep magic and gives the give of mercy to those whose minds are beyond saving but whose bodies still live. 4y
inthegreensandblues Detective or English teacher for me. Those are both acceptable! 4y
CafeMom I love this. The book I just finished Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English. He made his fortune in carpets so textiles. I dodged a bullet as the book I am reading now is about slavery. 4y
Itchyfeetreader Love it ! you‘re a busy bee ! 4y
iamcourtneyb Nanny! Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware 4y
shanaqui Well, I was reading Dorothy L. Sayers, so I hope my new calling as a detective comes with Lord Peter's income as well. 4y
kiwigenxer A student at Miskatonic University.. 4y
63 likes15 comments
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karmenseeta
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
Pickpick

A mind-blowing read. Being a big fan if Graeber's writing, I can't help but admire the brilliant ease with which he pinpoints familiar but unnamed concepts & explains the phenomenon of the modern world.

RaimeyGallant I'm stacking soooo many books today! 5y
karmenseeta Enjoy😊! 5y
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Wellreadhead
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

Book review for Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber
Check out the full review here:
http://www.athinsliceofanxiety.com/2019/04/review-bullshit-jobs-theory.html?m=1
#athinsliceofanxiety #bullshitjobs

Rebesta I tried to leave a comment on your blog review, but apparently I have some forgotten account there and couldn‘t resolve it before the comment disappeared. Anyway, that was a stellar review and commentary on the book. Much of it I have known for quite some time. I think I picked it up from reading The Beat writers and Bukowski. Then working in sales and marketing drove the point home. Marketing is perhaps the biggest bullshit job ever invented. 5y
CouronneDhiver I have one of those 😆 5y
Wellreadhead @Rebesta Thank you! I‘m also a big fan of Bukowski. 5y
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Emilymdxn
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

I recommend this to anyone who‘s ever felt frustrated by how employment works today, had a job that they knew did nothing in the world, or wondered how the world of business can possibly claim to operate efficiently. Readable but densely researched and eye-opening, it‘s great to read an anthropologist validate stuff lots of us have long suspected. Also optimistic, reading about how much we‘re capable of achieving when we aren‘t trapped.

RamsFan1963 I read this, it was very entertaining. 5y
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Emilymdxn
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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“Every day we wake up and collectively make a world together; but which one of us, left to our own devices, would ever decide they wanted to make a world like this one?”

Trashcanman Amen. 5y
batsy Yup. 5y
JSW Exactly. 5y
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Emilymdxn
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Conservative voters, I would suggest, tend to resent intellectuals more than they resent rich people, because they can imagine a scenario in which they or their children might become rich, but they cannot possibly imagine one in which they could ever become a member of the cultural elite.

Fascinating to think about - I always like insights into other people‘s heads. Conservatives are often the hardest to understand for me

SW-T That‘s interesting and makes a twisted sort of sense. 5y
Slajaunie I am a conservative with two degrees and will be pursuing my PhD in the next two years. My husband and children are well educated as well. Our families as well. That is a stereotype and very offensive. 5y
Emilymdxn @Slajaunie I‘m very sorry to have said something hurtful. The quote from the book was in the context of discussing working class perceptions of different types of elite job, and I found it interesting as a comment on why some working class conservatives have the beliefs about liberal media elites that they do. I didn‘t mean to imply that all conservatives are uneducated, which I don‘t believe. 5y
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Amiable @Emilymdxn No need to apologize. The quote doesn‘t say conservatives are uneducated. It says they tend to resent intellectuals. Those are not necessarily the same things. You can be educated and not be an intellectual, and vice versa. (As a counter point of reference, I am a liberal with two degrees. 😉) (edited) 5y
Emilymdxn @amiable thank you! That was what I felt the quote meant, and in my country at least conservatives as a unit distrust academia tho I‘ve met conservatives at both higher education institutions and theatres I‘ve worked at 5y
Weaponxgirl @Emilymdxn I understand what you meant by sharing the quote. Especially when we have conservatives saying things like people are fed up with experts. It‘s an interesting thought and I had never thought of it that way before as for me it‘s almost exactly the other way round. I have no chance of becoming rich but culture in varying degrees is available to anyone now who wants to experience it and learn. 5y
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Emilymdxn
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Lunchtime reading and delicious cookie, tho I‘m very annoyed I didn‘t turn down the disposable bag fast enough. I looked away from the counter to read an email from Greenpeace! I tried 😢

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Emilymdxn
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Being sick is tiring guys... my head hurts and stuff but mainly I‘m just bored. I‘m not really a stating in person ☹️ I need coffee and fresh air and people to talk to and to move my body. Guess I‘m gonna read and be on Litsy all day instead, prepare for me to comment on EVERYTHING. This book is really awesome tho, I‘ve turned the font up to 1000pt type to not make my headache worse

sudi So sorry to hear that, hope you feel better soon 💕💕💕 5y
Ashley_Nicoletto Gah. This is the worst. I‘m sorry you‘re sick. I am also a coffee, outside, body movement human and being sick is just depressing. 🤞🏼🤞🏼 you feel better soon. 5y
Naj Ah, that sucks. Hope you get better soon. 💚 5y
See All 6 Comments
kgriffith So sorry to hear it! I‘ll try to take quick breaks on the road to post so you have plenty of content ;) 5y
Centique Get well soon! I just had a flu that took forever to kick. Hope yours goes much more quickly 💕 5y
Susannah I‘m impressed you can read at all with your headache. I hope you‘re taking lots of breaks to rest. Take care! 5y
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catiewithac
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

Think of Graeber‘s new book as an extended essay. The best parts concern the history and philosophy of work. The weaker (but entertaining) elements feature interviews from b#%*shit job workers that were solicited through Twitter. There‘s essentially no science here, but the history is excellent. The section on how our understanding of time has changed since feudalism is very interesting. The writer‘s on to something here with this theory!

RamsFan1963 I listened to the audiobook about a month ago, found it very enlightening and entertaining 6y
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thepilar
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
Pickpick

Intelligent analysis on the impact industrialization and the shift to a service economy has had on the definition of employments. The book does an excellent job of identifying numerous challenges facing the modern workforce but does left something to be desired when recommending solutions.

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cpreja
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Sagebrush and I are reading this one together and have just finished a spirited debate regarding what we think so far.

Sage feels Mr. Graeber is long winded in his definition and that the definition of a bullshit job is as simple as any job that requires I leave the house without her. And while I agree that the book can be tedious at times, it is quite interesting so far.

We'll see if the author can turn Ms. Sage around by the end.

GypsyKat Awe! So cute! ❤️ 6y
RadicalReader Sagebrush is such a sweet name 5y
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Picaveli
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

You can't quote an entire book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

tpixie Lol 😆. Welcome to Litsy! 5y
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RamsFan1963
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

I've had plenty of sh*t jobs (low pay, grunt work and little recognition) but only a couple of bullsh*t jobs (high pay, but pointless, useless or pernicious in nature). This book is about the emotional, mental, financial and social damage done to people who realize what they do is meaningless. 5🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅 out of 5

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RamsFan1963
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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I dont usually do audio books, but friends have told me over and over that I am missing out by not trying it, so last night I joined Audible.com to give it a shot. This is what I decided to try, sounded funnny and informative.

Kaye I hope you enjoy them. Some people love them and others don‘t. I started them back 3 years ago . It takes a different part of your brain, I think, to interpret them. It took me awhile to get the hang of them, but listen frequently now. A good narrator is very important. A bad one can ruin it for you. Just remember, they have the deal where if you dont like the book, give it back and try another. Good luck on your new adventure. 6y
RamsFan1963 Thank you. At this time I'm only planning to listen to non-fiction on Audible. I have tried fiction, on cassette tapes, in the past and i found I didn't care for someone else reading a story to me. I get more out of fiction creating the voices in my head. 6y
5 likes2 comments
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Mentallofilth
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber
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Pickpick

This book changed the way I think about job dissatisfaction. I don‘t agree with every point and even find his argument flat-out wrong at times, but I still found the book funny, tragic, insightful, and thought-provoking. Graeber argues very persuasively that our modern economic system is hopelessly broken, less free market capitalism than a new form of feudalism. One of the rare economics reads that will stick with me.

catiewithac Wage slavery 6y
4 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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shutupsmalls
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory | David Graeber

Final Working Definition: a bullshit job is a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case.

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