Vol. 1 No. 1 (2020): Special Dossier - Pandêmios Politikê: radical thought in quarantine (jul/dec 2020)
Special Dossier

Towards a bullshit economy

PDF (Português (Brasil))
  • David Graeber,
  • Fábio Tozi,
  • João Lucas Xavier
David Graeber
London School of Economics and Political Science, Londres, Inglaterra
Bio
Fábio Tozi
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil
João Lucas Xavier
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53981/destroos.v1i1.32796

Published 2021-01-25

Keywords

  • pandemic,
  • bullshit economy,
  • productivity,
  • caring economy,
  • bullshit jobs

How to Cite

GRAEBER, D.; TOZI, F.; XAVIER, J. L. Towards a bullshit economy. (Des)troços: revista de pensamento radical, Belo Horizonte, v. 1, n. 1, p. 42–47, 2021. DOI: 10.53981/destroos.v1i1.32796. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/revistadestrocos/article/view/32796. Acesso em: 17 jul. 2024.

Copyright (c) 2021 (Des)troços: journal of radical thought

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The article discusses the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic as an exemplary moment to debate the contemporary direction of the economy. The lockdown proved that most of the jobs that people do are useless and not necessary and could be considered as bullshit jobs. At the same time, caring jobs are essential, although they are among those with the lowest wages. This finding is a risk to corporate and government bureaucracies designed to produce private debt and which support bullshit jobs. Therefore, it is necessary to restart “the economy” quickly, even if it is a bullshit economy. Finally, it is asked whether the definition of the economy by the notion of productivity would not be an outdated idea.

PDF (Português (Brasil))

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References

  1. GRAEBER, David. The utopia of rules: on technology, stupidity, and the secret joys of bureaucracy. New York: Melville House, 2015.
  2. GRAEBER, David. Dívida: os primeiros 5000 anos. Trad. Rogério Bettoni. São Paulo: Três Estrelas, 2016 [2011].
  3. GRAEBER, David. Bullshit jobs: a theory. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018.
  4. GRAEBER, David. Vers une “bullshit economy”. Libération, 27 mai. 2020. Trad. Alexandre Pateau. Disponível em: www.liberation.fr/debats/2020/05/27/vers-une-bullshit-economy_1789579. Acesso em: 06 set. 2020.
  5. WEISSMAN, Suzi. The rise of bullshit jobs: an interview with David Graeber, Jacobin, 30 jun. 2018. Disponível em: https://jacobinmag.com/2018/06/bullshit-jobs-david-graeber-work-service. Acesso em: 30 set. 2020.
  6. FERNANDES, Fábio (tradução). A ascensão dos empregos de merda: uma entrevista com David Graeber, Jacobin Brasil, 04 set. 2020. Entrevista concedida a Suzi Weissman. Disponível em: https://jacobin.com.br/2020/09/a-ascensao-dos-empregos-de-merda/. Acesso em: 20 set. 2020.