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WORK_AND_PLAY
May 26, 2007
Bob Black seems to think "The Abolition of Work"
it's crystal clear: [ref]
THE_ANTIBOB and "Smokestack Lightning"
Play is what you do for [ref]
it's own sake, for it's DUBIOUS_FLARE
own enjoyment, and work (Black claims support
is something done for in the ethnographic
some deferred purpose. record. But that's
what they all say, eh?)
He fantasizes of a pre-economic
time when survival was a Myself, I have my
side-effect of play, and hopes doubts that this
for a post-economic utopia to vision of primitive
come. mankind is any more HOBBESIAN_HOAX
accurate than usual...
There's a major difficulty in But the point is taken
these definitions though, in that they industrialized
that they rely entirely on world knows less
subjective attitudes. about the art of living
than is commonly admitted.
A rock climber may
engage in grueling E.g. Dangerbaby
A man who goes fishing physical activity always returns from
on the weekend may harder than most Bali stunned by the
indeed be doing it for people's "work". sheer quanitites of
it's own sake, and only After pulling neurotic stress
be dimly conscious of oneself over the cases in the United
the fact that the top, there's a sense States.
activity helps him stay of satisifaction and
alive: he is at "play". relief that you People in Bali
But if he realizes that might call "fun", certainly have their
he needs to do this (or but there's very problems, but they
something like it) in little of it during don't have the
order to survive, then the acutal effort of American habit of
he is doing "work". the climb. torturing themselves
with their worries,
So, the distinction and making their lives
between work and worse in a desperate
play can be a matter pursuit of "the
of awareness? Activity engaged American dream".
in for a deferred
A boy who plays reward... is this She points out
hard in a high then "work"? they don't have
school sport a word for "stress"
may tell themselves (But actually in Balinese, they
that it is not Black knows about have to borrow
"work", but isn't that ambiguity -- the English.
there a serious, he uses the example
grim purpose of a poker player --
underneath it, but he takes refuge
a matter of status- in the common sense
seeking, a need to *obviousness*
impress...? of the definitions.)
Yeah, okay, so if you believe
in "freedom", you believe
that it's better if people do
things because they want to
"*If productive play is rather than because they have to...
possible, so too is the
abolition of work.*"
So what is it that
"Smokestack people want, exactly?
Lightning"
from How is it you know?
"Friendly
Fire" (1992) Are you sure that
*they* know? In the United
Actually, of course, that States, people
doesn't follow at all. have an amazing
That some necessary work knack for wanting
can be fun does not show what they think
that all of it can be. they're supposed
to want.
What *does* follow, however,
is you really don't want
this guy as your roomate,
unless you like doing Black reminds me
someone else's dishes. of Abbie Hoffman
in "Revolution for
the Hell of It"...
Hoffman shrugged off the idea
of necessary work, suggesting
A job can start that there would always be
out in a burst some Spiro Agnew type who
of enthusiasm wanted to clean the toilets.
and become a
grind that must (I fear he
be slogged through overestimated
to reach completion. Spiro Agnew).
If I *wanted* to
complete it, than
it was play?
If I felt I *had*
to complete it,
then it was *work*?
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