happily unemployed2 min read

with economic tendencies and technological advances of recent years full-employment for all has become an illusion. there simply will never again be enough work for everybody. while the governments are still busy faking the unemployment numbers and creating secondary workmarkets, what is actually called for, is a fundamental change in our attitude towards employment and work.
first, we need to differentiate between employment and work as a more basic concept. i don’t have a job, meaning i don’t receive a wage, which does not mean i am doing nothing. i am still working all the time. in fact i have so many projects and am inventing so many things, that i am busy all the time and can’t even get it all done.

second, people who are willing not to work for wages should no longer get stigmatised in daily life. i have no problem being unemployed, so i will gladly renounce this rare and precious commodity. what has to change however is the fact, that i am being forced to constantly justify and hide my unemployment in front of the government and the rest of society. in a way society at large should be glad that i am willing to renounce having a job, right? if me and others renounce jobs it means there are more jobs for others, who don’t know how to keep busy without employment.
third, people with this attitude need to organise. we need to have a coming out and be allowed to openly state this. we need to show others, that not having a job is not the end of the world, that one can be quite happy in this situation and do very usefull things in fact. the guilt people feel for not having a job needs to stop.
here’s an interesting manifesto [in german] die gluecklichen arbeitslosen

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