Guest post by Charles Eisenstein Ever since the early days of the Industrial Revolution, futurists have promised an imminent Age of Leisure, a paradise of comfort in which machines would do all the work. Rene Descartes promised it in 1637, John Maynard Keynes in 1930, Alvin Toffler in 1970, and just this year, Elon Musk has
What America needs more than anything is an organic, sound money revolution. The Federal Reserve needs to be abolished and Organic Farmers should reap Gold and Silver for their labors. Musicians should be paid with Silver Dollars, and each State should have a State Bank, similar to the Bank of North Dakota. Dr. Ron Paul was on to something. America was settled by Yeoman Farmers, Artisans and Philosophers. Paper is Poverty said Thomas Jefferson. Love his gardens.
there’s a saying something like, “every dog needs a job”. if a dog doesn’t know his role and have his purpose he’s more apt to have destructive or nervous behaviors. are people different? no way. we all need some form(s) of fulfillment in our lives, and working with our hands and brains is definitely a step in that direction. a life of leisure will only lead to destructive behavior.
We need to cut the deficit, we need to end chronic disease, we need to end forever wars, we need to get corporate influence out of government and rebuild America from the bottom. Kennedy is the first candidate in my lifetime who understands that the role of government is to "serve" the people
I spent the holidays in San Francisco, walking amongst the intricately crafted victorians, and the not so intricately crafted modern replicas. My husband I reflected on work and craftsmanship and skill and time- the once apparent abundance of time- how did they feel so spacious and focused?!- and the availability of raw materials. He reflected at one point that we no longer have a society of craftsmen but now have a world of installers. Things get made in a factory and shipped to where people install them. And he guessed that changed as there was massive population growth. I thought it a stark insight. I want to put care and time and love and character into the things I do. I want to develop the patience to do that. It almost takes a revolutionary will to go against the tide, not letting fear, exhaustion, distraction, malaise detour me.
I always appreciate an essay which elevates trade workers. I work closely with these people and my work overlaps theirs. To me, they are high status individuals. They are the people I am more prone to look up to and trust. They make the world go.
This goes for youth as well. Young people are no longer required to be useful in any way, shape or form. They neither perform paid labor for the benefit of the family, nor work on the family farm or Hunt and gather.
Skateparks and recreation centers and clubs and activities are built and run in order to keep them entertained and occupied, and if they chose not to participate (and have no other higher goals) a big proportion of them become destructive (tagging buildings, doing drugs, stealing and in other ways act against society). And those that aren’t drawn in to these physical pastimes are drawn into the abstractions on their phones and of those, a large portion lose their minds and abuse their bodies in the service of some kind of gender abstraction.
All of which is to say that we all need the concrete, the real, and if young people aren’t also inducted into the three dimensional world of matter, and our relationship with it, the results may be equally, if not more destructive as they are for adults.
What if everyone is born with a purpose that serves humanity. Those who are physically disabled provide a chance for others to experience care giving and compassion. Even the infants in the NICU may live short lives yet touch many hearts. Do what you love, what you're gifted in. Let it bring you joy. That joy spreads to to others,and so on and so on. Take a larger viewpoint of the task of a soul on earth. How can we expand and grow on a soul level? In over 7 million different ways.
Thank you for an excellent article on one of the fundamental questions of Life... What is right Livelihood for me? This quest can be made simpler by teaching the child to listen to their heart... that's really the parents job.. an exceptional teacher can also do it. Set the stage, nurture the environment for the child to discover their heart's deepest desire, contained in that desire is their gift to Humanity, to Life.. net result when done at the highest level.. Heaven on Earth...
I pray you get the opportunity as President to start the rebuild of the American dream. You represent part of the truth but many are not ready to see it, we can only hope there are enough to save us all.
Your article rings like a bell, at least to me. I have the good fortune to work with my hands.
But I must also concern myself with the state of the society that I live in.
Imagine the difference if our town planning regime allowed people to work where they live. They would spend less time behind the wheel of a car and save about 40K in direct and the opportunity cost of not being able to do useful and important stuff like playing with their kids. They might then turn their part time interest into a business and cease looking for entertainment and mind-altering substances.
Imagine the difference if instead of adding more urban sprawl on the margin we insisted on moving out to create more self-sustaining communities at a safe distance from an existing shopping center owned by a financier and populated by chains that are intent on supplying own brand product and screwing suppliers and consumers alike.
Imagine the difference to the immediate neighborhood if we took all forms of heavy projectiles off the street to ensure that our preschoolers could meet in a safe, unsupervised place and teach each other to use their imaginations and be creative.
Imagine the difference if everyone had a safe place to raise children and they were incentivized to have granny and grandpa and their damaged family members nearby.
I was very excited about RFK,Jr. becoming a candidate for President and especially when I learned that Dennis Kucinich was managing the campaign, since I worked for Dennis’ campaign twenty years ago. I really believed that RFK, Jr . was against war. Then I learned that RFK,Jr. supported Israel in its treatment of the Palestinians, and I couldn’t fit this belief in with all his other beliefs that seemed aligned with justice. When October 7th happened and RFK, Jr. called for ‘giving Israel anything they need to fight Hamas’, I couldn’t believe it. I felt betrayed. How could anyone with such a knowledge of US military operations, and the military industrial complex advocate wanton slaughter of Palestinian civilians? With over 20,000 Palestinians killed and months more to go before Israel will stop, has RFK,Jr. said anything to discourage Israel? How can people interested in justice continue to support RFK, Jr.?
What America needs more than anything is an organic, sound money revolution. The Federal Reserve needs to be abolished and Organic Farmers should reap Gold and Silver for their labors. Musicians should be paid with Silver Dollars, and each State should have a State Bank, similar to the Bank of North Dakota. Dr. Ron Paul was on to something. America was settled by Yeoman Farmers, Artisans and Philosophers. Paper is Poverty said Thomas Jefferson. Love his gardens.
there’s a saying something like, “every dog needs a job”. if a dog doesn’t know his role and have his purpose he’s more apt to have destructive or nervous behaviors. are people different? no way. we all need some form(s) of fulfillment in our lives, and working with our hands and brains is definitely a step in that direction. a life of leisure will only lead to destructive behavior.
We need to cut the deficit, we need to end chronic disease, we need to end forever wars, we need to get corporate influence out of government and rebuild America from the bottom. Kennedy is the first candidate in my lifetime who understands that the role of government is to "serve" the people
"Satisfaction in work comes not just from meeting a quota, but from meeting one’s responsibility to the creation." Love this, thank you.
Indeed😂 redeemed.
I spent the holidays in San Francisco, walking amongst the intricately crafted victorians, and the not so intricately crafted modern replicas. My husband I reflected on work and craftsmanship and skill and time- the once apparent abundance of time- how did they feel so spacious and focused?!- and the availability of raw materials. He reflected at one point that we no longer have a society of craftsmen but now have a world of installers. Things get made in a factory and shipped to where people install them. And he guessed that changed as there was massive population growth. I thought it a stark insight. I want to put care and time and love and character into the things I do. I want to develop the patience to do that. It almost takes a revolutionary will to go against the tide, not letting fear, exhaustion, distraction, malaise detour me.
I always appreciate an essay which elevates trade workers. I work closely with these people and my work overlaps theirs. To me, they are high status individuals. They are the people I am more prone to look up to and trust. They make the world go.
This goes for youth as well. Young people are no longer required to be useful in any way, shape or form. They neither perform paid labor for the benefit of the family, nor work on the family farm or Hunt and gather.
Skateparks and recreation centers and clubs and activities are built and run in order to keep them entertained and occupied, and if they chose not to participate (and have no other higher goals) a big proportion of them become destructive (tagging buildings, doing drugs, stealing and in other ways act against society). And those that aren’t drawn in to these physical pastimes are drawn into the abstractions on their phones and of those, a large portion lose their minds and abuse their bodies in the service of some kind of gender abstraction.
All of which is to say that we all need the concrete, the real, and if young people aren’t also inducted into the three dimensional world of matter, and our relationship with it, the results may be equally, if not more destructive as they are for adults.
Great essay!
FYI - TC Shorts: Julian Assange – Dec 22 (14 min version) – Video interview was NOT allowed
https://tuckercarlson.com/tc-shorts-julian-assange/
What if everyone is born with a purpose that serves humanity. Those who are physically disabled provide a chance for others to experience care giving and compassion. Even the infants in the NICU may live short lives yet touch many hearts. Do what you love, what you're gifted in. Let it bring you joy. That joy spreads to to others,and so on and so on. Take a larger viewpoint of the task of a soul on earth. How can we expand and grow on a soul level? In over 7 million different ways.
Thank you for an excellent article on one of the fundamental questions of Life... What is right Livelihood for me? This quest can be made simpler by teaching the child to listen to their heart... that's really the parents job.. an exceptional teacher can also do it. Set the stage, nurture the environment for the child to discover their heart's deepest desire, contained in that desire is their gift to Humanity, to Life.. net result when done at the highest level.. Heaven on Earth...
Your being the Director of Policy for RFK Jr. makes me realize that I must consider his presidential bid more seriously. This is superb.
Well said. The person who works on my car gets high marks as done anyone willing to work on my house’s wiring and pipes.
I pray you get the opportunity as President to start the rebuild of the American dream. You represent part of the truth but many are not ready to see it, we can only hope there are enough to save us all.
Your article rings like a bell, at least to me. I have the good fortune to work with my hands.
But I must also concern myself with the state of the society that I live in.
Imagine the difference if our town planning regime allowed people to work where they live. They would spend less time behind the wheel of a car and save about 40K in direct and the opportunity cost of not being able to do useful and important stuff like playing with their kids. They might then turn their part time interest into a business and cease looking for entertainment and mind-altering substances.
Imagine the difference if instead of adding more urban sprawl on the margin we insisted on moving out to create more self-sustaining communities at a safe distance from an existing shopping center owned by a financier and populated by chains that are intent on supplying own brand product and screwing suppliers and consumers alike.
Imagine the difference to the immediate neighborhood if we took all forms of heavy projectiles off the street to ensure that our preschoolers could meet in a safe, unsupervised place and teach each other to use their imaginations and be creative.
Imagine the difference if everyone had a safe place to raise children and they were incentivized to have granny and grandpa and their damaged family members nearby.
Insightful!
I was very excited about RFK,Jr. becoming a candidate for President and especially when I learned that Dennis Kucinich was managing the campaign, since I worked for Dennis’ campaign twenty years ago. I really believed that RFK, Jr . was against war. Then I learned that RFK,Jr. supported Israel in its treatment of the Palestinians, and I couldn’t fit this belief in with all his other beliefs that seemed aligned with justice. When October 7th happened and RFK, Jr. called for ‘giving Israel anything they need to fight Hamas’, I couldn’t believe it. I felt betrayed. How could anyone with such a knowledge of US military operations, and the military industrial complex advocate wanton slaughter of Palestinian civilians? With over 20,000 Palestinians killed and months more to go before Israel will stop, has RFK,Jr. said anything to discourage Israel? How can people interested in justice continue to support RFK, Jr.?