There's no vision at work here

Among all the stupid political goals that exists, the goal to "create more jobs" is among the more stupid ones. Furthermore, it is one of the least visionary, least reality based and least relevant goals that can be set for a society like ours.

The simple truth is that there are a certain number of things that has to be done in order for society to function. Things beyond discussion - keeping the infrastructure working, getting food to people, power generation and such things. Then there are things that makes society better for being done - social work, healthcare, optimization of administration and so on. And then there's all those things that really can't be said to be necessary in any way, but that gets done anyway - public relations, high end insurance ponzi schemes , frivolous entertainment jippos and suchlike.

And then we've run out of things to do. Those things that needs to be done are done, those things that ought to be done are also done, and there's such an oversaturation of those things that really don't either need or ought to be done that we can't even begin to comprehend what to do with it all. After all of that - nothing, zero, null.

There's no recourse to the argument that more things needs to be done. It's already being done. There's also no recourse to the argument that more things ought to be done - same story. And we can't well take recourse to the argument that we need to make more things we don't need - that is a self-contradiction if there ever was one.

To make a long story short: the goal to create more jobs is undermined by the fact that we really don't need, desire or even want more of what jobs bring us. Under these circumstances, to portray job creation as the highest - not to say only - political goal worth having -

Well.

It's an insult to any and all intelligent beings you care to associate with.

People need to eat, sleep and be sheltered from the elements. They desire community, meaning and worthy things to do. And they need and desire these things regardless of their status on the ever shrinking job market. A market that shows every imaginable sign of neither wanting nor needing more people.

It may not be not be visionary to want a society where people can eat, sleep and feel safe in their continued beings. But compared to the main competing vision, it is an all the more realistic one.

Give people what they need, not what an outmoded political system wants.

Originally published June 28, 2012