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388 points pseudolus | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.217s | source
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deadbabe ◴[] No.43485671[source]
The truth many will not want to admit is that knowledge work is essentially the “rentier income” version of labor.

You secure an asset (specialized knowledge), and then you just live off of it while doing the minimal work you can, by turning yourself into an asset.

Even though this affords many people a comfortable life, much like being a landowner of a vast portfolio of properties, it contributes to the inequality and degradation of society, splitting people between those who must labor physically and those who look down at them comfortably from high balconies.

Society will not be worse off with most people doing physical labor. It was that way for thousands of years and humanity flourished. People may not like it, but humanity can only truly relax and do nothing when it has reached its peak and every problem is solved, and we are just not there yet. Back to work.

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1. goatlover ◴[] No.43486210[source]
> Society will not be worse off with most people doing physical labor. It was that way for thousands of years and humanity flourished.

What's the evidence that humanity flourished? The elites flourished off lots of slave and peasant labor. The standard of living was much lower while inequality was a lot higher. You would need to go back to hunter and gatherers, and it's hard to compare those lifestyles with today. For one things, billions of people don't live in nomadic tribes. Not everyone wants or can do physical labor. As a hunter gatherer, you had little choice but to pitch in.