>If it made economic sense to pay people to dig holes and refill them all day, we would. But that's pointless - it provides no value.
Actually we do it, and it helps. In fact a large part of current jobs is like that, BS busywork jobs.
The reason it helps is, as I see it:
1) Productivity/automation is well up...
2) More people than required are available to work
3) -- On-demand re-education of the kind needed to fit actual needs (e.g. for programmers), can't / ain't gonna happen, it's a pipe dream at the speeds required and for the populations concern
4) -- and even if it was possible, it would just cover a small fraction. Even with all job needs covered, many people are not needed to work anywhere, period.
5) BS jobs hence serve as a distribution / welfare system / kindergarten for adults
6) -- but allow us to not call it "welfare" and to include more than the poor, and have them keep their dignity (since we sneer on welfare recipients)
7) -- and keep from having a huge unemployed mass revolting or making society Mad Max
The really sad part is all the missed positive externalities. Think about what could happen if a few companies owned up to it and said "hey we'll let you have one day a week helping children with their homework or working on a shared vegetable garden or... or... because [insert outreachy marketing speech]"
Companies would never do it because of competition. Only a token company might do it, when it doesn't need to compete as much (e.g. has a niche, sells luxury stuff with a secure market, where the positive work balance they sell as part of the brand). If many did it, then this good-will gesture would lose the marketing value for the company (since it would be common).
Instead, companies need to be forced to do it, by law -- like they were forced to stop child labor, to have safety laws, to 8 hours workday, etc.
Actually we do it, and it helps. In fact a large part of current jobs is like that, BS busywork jobs.
The reason it helps is, as I see it:
1) Productivity/automation is well up...
2) More people than required are available to work
3) -- On-demand re-education of the kind needed to fit actual needs (e.g. for programmers), can't / ain't gonna happen, it's a pipe dream at the speeds required and for the populations concern
4) -- and even if it was possible, it would just cover a small fraction. Even with all job needs covered, many people are not needed to work anywhere, period.
5) BS jobs hence serve as a distribution / welfare system / kindergarten for adults
6) -- but allow us to not call it "welfare" and to include more than the poor, and have them keep their dignity (since we sneer on welfare recipients)
7) -- and keep from having a huge unemployed mass revolting or making society Mad Max