This a cousin of David Graeber’s conception of “bullshit jobs” He saw “flunkies” (people who exist to make someone else feel important), “duct tapers” (people who fix problems that shouldn’t exist), and “box tickers” (people who create the appearance that something useful is happening). he framed these as a systemic feature of financialized capitalism, managerial feudalism, and bureaucratic expansion. The system generates these roles, and people fill them.
Research
A collection of ongoing research and inspiration across design, technology, photography, and more collected in Are.na. Over the years I've developed a deep fascination for the visual image in culture, sports, photography, internet-culture, technology and fashion. Follow me on Are.na.
To be impactful, companies often need scale. But scale tends to break alignment. The bigger you get, the harder it is to keep “be good” at the center, because incentives shift toward shareholders, advertisers, or efficiency.
Life would be miserable if we only spent time in commercial spaces, because not all value can be captured and supported in a commercial context
Choice and will The digital landscape has an influence on our lives, but we are more directly affected by our personal choices. We must fend for ourselves, whether or not the technology industry chooses to deal with the implications of their work.
