Work and Freedom

Work is the expenditure of energy over time. Our life is a sequence of configurations of language, experience, and desire that takes energy to sustain. So a fundamental fact of life is that we need to take in at least as much energy as we consume. Food is our energy source. Clothing, heat, and shelter help us to conserve our energy and to protect our body from damage.

The simplest form of work is hunting and gathering, when we have direct access to natural resources that can be converted directly to our use for survival. We can usually save up some resources either in our body, in artifacts that we created before, or in food caches. This allows us times where we are free from the need to work. We are still expending energy over time, but we are doing what we want, so it is not work in the sense that we usually use the term.

Subsistence agriculture does not change this situation much. We still have direct access to the resources that we work with to produce what we need to live. The situation begins to change as trade becomes more important. We start to exchange some of what we have produced with others. Some people become specialized and removed from the basic resources they need to survive. They only get them through exchanges with primary producers. Still, they do have the option to go "back to the farm" if they cannot survive by selling their specialized products and services.

But eventually we get to the situation where the option of going back to primary production is no longer there. We are totally dependent on the market to sell our products and services. By this time the value of past production is often stored as money.

Add to this a situation in which all the land is owned, that is, the use of land is the exclusive right of certain landlords, then we have to pay rent just to have the resources to survive off the land. Or we can move totally away from primary production and either become a trader, a craftsman, or a paid worker. Traders and craftsman make their money by selling something. A paid worker sells their own time.

A paid worker can provide temporary services or they can enter into a longer term contract called employment. Under employment, the worker agrees to provide ongoing services to an employer that change over time such that the employer becomes the worker's "master" or "boss".

This differs from simple slavery in that the employee is actually paid, is free to leave the employment, and is otherwise free from the employer on their own time. Also, the employer is the master only for certain specified employment related matters.

But if the reality is that the worker has no choice but to give a large part of their life to the employer, then we enter into the territory of wage slavery. The worker does not have the option to go back to the farm. They must work in the "satanic mills" to survive.

If the worker has skills that are in demand, then they have more options. Their working conditions will likely be better and they will make enough to save and perhaps have periods where they don't have to work. Maybe they can invest some of that savings or be able to use some of their own time to produce something that they own and sell. Thus they can become more free.

But even for the skilled employee, employment is often just a gilded cage. They are still in fact wage slaves, however fancy their surroundings.

We have always had to work to survive. It is still true unless we are retired, have inherited wealth, or get others to do our work for us. So work is a fundamental part of life. The two main problems now are the slavery of employment and the uncertainties of the market. We have to learn to be a happy wage slave, and the market conditions may be such that we don't even have that option, due to unemployment.

An obvious strategy is to get skills and education so that we can be paid more and have a little more job security. The next strategy is to save and invest wisely. Finally, we need some strategies to be happy slaves, since "back to the land" is not going to work for most of us. Here are some ideas.

Be in a position to walk away. It is important to have an adequate emergency fund so that you can always walk away and look for another job. This is also important to buffer involuntary periods of unemployment. It is also good to be in a position to scale back and get by on less.

Position the boss as a priority setter. In fact, most bosses are just wage slaves like you. Don't accept them as a master or think of them as an authority figure you have to please. They just provide an input that you need, assignments and what order to do them in.

Maintain your value. It is important to keep your skills current and to learn new skills. Also, you need to do enough so that it would be expensive, or at least a hassle, to replace you.

Accept your limits. You just have to do a good enough job, not a perfect job. Realize that others who might replace you aren't perfect either.

Protect your free time. Find ways to make sure that the job doesn't take over your life. Try to work normal hours, although this can get hard when there is an arms race for longer hours.

Pretend you like it. Try to develop a positive attitude about the work itself. Find something you like about it. If you are lucky, you may actually love your work. Think of it as an important service to the community.

Pretend you are free. Imagine that this is your last week or month, or that you are just working here for a while, but you don't have to. Just don't actually believe it.

Keep your own council. There is no need to complain or spread around your ideas about work. You are there for a specific purpose.

Be positive and friendly. At least you may enjoy the company of your fellow wage slaves.