Thanks to JSully for pointing me–in the context of our discussions here of New Work–in the direction of the recent Slate article, “In the Name of Love,” by Miya Tokumitsu. Tokumitsu here describes the Steve-Jobsian commandment to “do what you love” as elitism, in that only the elite can afford such a luxury, and valuing only work done through love Continue Reading …
Mark and Frithjof on Community Production at Bloggingheads.tv
Watch at Bloggingheads.TV In this follow-up to our first video, Frithjof Bergmann discusses the concept of community production in more depth. To what extent is this actually happening now? Is it actually cheaper to produce goods in this setting than via mass production? Who pays for all of this? Some lingering questions get answered. -Mark Linsenmayer
Mark and Frithjof on Bloggingheads.tv
In light of our podcast discussions here and here, I’m helping Frithjof Bergmann launch what will hopefully be a series of shorter video discussions on New Work at bloggingheads.tv. We made our first recording yesterday, and it has already been posted: Watch at Bloggingheads.tv There shouldn’t be much new here for PEL listeners who’ve already sat through our two interviews Continue Reading …
The Mild Disease of Successful Employment
[Editor’s Note: Thanks to new blogger Jacob Wick for this meditation on work. Now go, everyone! Quit your jobs today! -ML] In Episode 83, Frithjof mentioned the large number of successful individuals that are unhappy with their work in the current job system. The feeling this work is creating was described as a “mild disease.” This resonated so strongly with Continue Reading …
Getting whatcha want, whatcha really really want
As I prepared for our recent podcast on New Work and we interviewed Bergman himself, I found that I have many sympathies with the project. Even without an analysis of the calamitous effect of the current job system on our economy, I can buy the fact that our job system is a structure with rules, implicit and explicit, that are Continue Reading …
Episode 83 Follow-Up: Q&A with Frithjof Bergmann
In light of our ep. 83, many listeners had questions on Frithjof’s social/political/economic proposals for creating a post-job, pro-meaningful-work world.
Submit Your Questions for the Frithjof Bergmann Q&A
I’ve tentatively scheduled a recorded Q&A session with just myself and Frithjof for next Wednesday, 8/23. We’d like to get YOUR questions (and challenges, and responses) that arose out of our interview with him in in PEL ep. 83. You can write them as comments to this post, or e-mail me directly. Details will the forthcoming re. how you will Continue Reading …
Aristotle v. Nietzsche on Human Nature (And What This Means for New Work)
I want to briefly call attention to the transition between virtue ethics as conceived by Aristotle and the jump to Nietzsche in the context of our New Work discussion. I’m not looking up quotes for this post; I’m less interested in their particular views then in a divergence of ways of thinking about virtue. For Aristotle, man has a Telos, Continue Reading …
Help Us Hype Frithjof
So far the reaction to our Frithjof Bergmann interview has been fantastic. Instead of simply giving our amateur commentary on Plato or Nietzsche or someone that you can find out about in plenty of other places, we’ve exposed something new and exciting. Whether or not you agree with Frithjof’s vision, it sure as hell deserves to be a widely discussed Continue Reading …
Episode 83 Follow-Up: Q&A with Frithjof Bergmann
In light of our ep. 83, many listeners had questions on Frithjof’s social/political/economic proposals for creating a post-job, pro-meaningful-work world.
Episode 83: New Work with Guest Frithjof Bergmann
Talking with Frithjof Bergmann, Prof. Emeritus from U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor about his book New Work, New Culture (2004, English release coming soon).
Episode 83: New Work with Guest Frithjof Bergmann
Talking with Frithjof Bergmann, Prof. Emeritus from U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor about his book New Work, New Culture (2004, English release coming soon). New Work is an alternative to the current, dysfunctional job system that aims to enable people to do work (which is not the same as a “job”) that they really, really want. Learn more.
End song: “We Who Have Escaped,” a new song by Mark Lint.
Precognition of Ep. 83: New Work
An introduction to and summary of Frithjof Bergmann’s New Work, New Culture, read by Mark Linsenmayer.
Precognition of Ep. 83: New Work
An introduction to and summary of Frithjof Bergmann’s New Work, New Culture, read by Mark Linsenmayer.
Robert Skidelsky on Work
Robert Skidelsky in How Much is Enough?: Money and the Good Life (2012) uses a 1930 essay from John Maynard Keynes (which you can read here) as a jumping-off point to argue, like Bergmann, that productivity gains enabled by past technological advances make it totally reasonable that we now should be working fewer hours than we are. However, Skidelsky’s range Continue Reading …
Bergmann as Philosopher (Before All that “New Work” Stuff)
We’re barely more than a day away right now from our interview with Frithjof, which he says he’s “thrilled” about, and I’m certainly looking forward to as well, though I can picture any number of things going less than ideally as I introduce these two known elements (Frithjof on the one hand and Seth/Wes/Dylan on the other) to each other. Continue Reading …
Topic for #83: Frithjof Bergmann on the Job System
Listen to Mark’s introduction to this topic via our Precognition mini-episode. On Saturday, 9/21, we’re scheduled to interview Frithjof Bergmann, Professor Emeritus from the University of Michigan, about his book New Work, New Culture (published in German in 2004 and due for English-language release this year). I’ve written on this topic several times on this blog already, so perhaps you’d Continue Reading …
Not School Digest #3: The Future of Work, Blood Meridian, Embodied Mind, and Heidegger
Excerpts of discussions about Frithjof Bergmann’s New Work, New Culture, Cormac McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian, Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and its Challenge to Western Thought by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, and Martin Heidegger’s “Letter on Humanism.”
Jeremy Rifkin’s Policy Suggestions for the End of Work
I’ve continued to get jazzed about this “work” topic such that it looks like we’ll be covering some selection of readings in this area for episode #83. My question about this on the Facebook group has gotten a lot of responses, and I’m starting to get clearer on the spectrum of questions and positions here. Here’s some information on one Continue Reading …
Listen to the Not School Discussion on F. Bergmann’s “New Work”
July is over, and with it another month of Not School. Join up for some August action, which looks to include some Kant, Jung, David Foster Wallace, Lyotard, the philosophy of computer programming, maybe some more Marx, and more if you get in there now and propose something you’d prefer! My main activity this month was a group on the Continue Reading …