On anti-work and wage slavery.
Recently, I have discovered the joy of Reddit. Apart from my favourite subreddit (NSFW and possibly NSFL?), I have found the NEET subreddit and its closely related antiwork subreddit.
NEET stands for Not in Employment, Education or Training. Fairly similar to hikikomori (ひきこもり), the latter refer to a refusal to leave their homes or rooms, shutting down their connection to the outside.
Hikikomori fit into the description of NEET, as a more severe situation often accompanied by various mental health issues.
NEET as a state of not in employment, education and training, goes hand in hand with the anti-work mentality. Hikikomori is often caused by trauma that distanced them to the outside world, which feed into being more disconnected socially, and cognitively.
The refusal of work often build upon a despise of wage slavery and capatalism.
Wage slavery refer to a situation where an individual is forced into work and is unable to leave because of immediate need for income and thus no room for negotiating with their employer.
That situation can be caused by a person's wage close to the minimum wage, barely enough to pay their bills. Student loans and spending that are necessary such as rent, electricity, etc all adds up to it.
That dependency on salary allow room for employer to exploit their employees, and on a economic point of view, that is only natural.
Any business would prioritize maximizing their margin. A minimum wage and getting as much labor out of it is the result of capitalism.
Not to mention how broken the education system is. People often find themselves in poverty or debt in order to afford higher education, for the sake of having a resume pretty enough to get them a higher base salary.
Take into consideration how high the supply of people who hold a degree and demand for it is.
That forced many people into the positions with lower pay than their education level enable them to get, and into places where they are replaceable because if they did not agree to stay in that position, their employer can easily find people who will.
It completely neglect individuality and it is not hard to find work not rewarding.
The government is to take part of the responsibility of how this occurred. If they were to raise the minimum wage, cooperations will find other ways to exploit their work forces, such as cutting employee's hours, hiring less people, raising their prices. Ultimately, it will fuel inflation. It is also guilty when their people are not able to quit their job at any time just to find another one, having a system to fall back on.
The ways to escape from wage slavery is to get into higher positions within companies, where income is greater the amount of which is mandatory. This is close to impossible for people who do not engage in receiving higher education. The other way is to start their own business, which again, is nearly impossible for people who are barely feeding themselves, not to mention how vague and imaginary it sounds.
The above all adds to the hopelessness for people who already find themselves in a difficult situation.
Materialism made the situation even worse. People were taught to desire and consume more and more items, and the things they own define the value of themselves. This is of course not a healthy mentality, but to think how one does not need the latest smartphone and still desire it is disturbing. Thinking more about it, would you sacrifice heat or water over the internet?
In theory, one can live Diogenes style and in Cynicism. One can be homeless yet few will do so by choice.
At what point is it too minimalistic? At what point are things enough to support one's life in comfort?
Well, it is all too much and let me slide into my pajamas and sleep on it.
Track of the day: Nine Inch Nails - The Hand That Feeds
Great band, great song, fit right in today's topic.
Scent of the Day: Fable Fragrances Voodoo
Smells like grape juice, but goth.
