Post photo: rescue package, subsidies, transfer payments | © Shutterstock
By now, even the last citizen should have noticed that our established social system is no longer running smoothly and that it has been doing so for a very long time.
The first basic problem is that the majority of us still define our own existence through work. The last one who really rebelled against this system should be Friedrich Nietzsche who succinctly stated that anyone who does not have two-thirds of the day to themselves is a slave. To this day we all define ourselves through work - but the smarter ones only pretend it is - and supposedly doing nothing is still the work of the devil.
Even billionaires, whether inherited or even won, cannot be content with simple idleness, they must continue to pretend to the world that they work hard at least 20 hours a day and even harder — some even do so, to their own chagrin; Work determines their life, which would not exist without work.
And even those who are not at all able to do any halfway meaningful work — the reasons for this are likely to be varied — have to be forced to work in our society. And those who could work but don't want to "work" themselves silly just so they don't have to work.
In the meantime, a job has even been elevated to a basic right by many people, and even more are in favor of an obligation to work.
What is completely incomprehensible to me is that people were not actually born to work, but have developed so well because they were constantly looking for ways to at least have to work less. And even in primeval times people were looking for art and culture in order to occupy themselves with each other when they had done their necessary daily work - not to work!
Our cousins in the animal world still use such moments for extended sleep units or just sit in hot springs to relax.
The second basic problem is that there is still a minimum of work that needs to be done in order to bring a comfortable life to all people. The challenge here is who works and who doesn't. The first fundamental problem, as we are finding out more and more frequently, is not the solution to the second fundamental problem. A slave-owning society, whether in antiquity or even one that can still be observed today, is also not the right way.
The right path will continue to be very complicated and complex, but technological advances will continue to help us as always. Automation and robotization are two promising keywords here. The challenge here is that social development must also keep up with technological developments. In any case, we absolutely have to redefine our idea of work!
The third basic problem is not that all members of our society have to be able to live, because this is a matter of course and also a universal human right, but that every society must also make this a matter of course possible, i.e. finance it.
The challenge here is that in Europe, and especially in Germany, the minimum requirements for human existence have been raised exorbitantly in contrast to the rest of the world. So much so that less than 5% of Europeans consume a good 50% of the social benefits available worldwide — incidentally, an imbalance that cannot remain without further consequences, such as e.g. B. Migration movements within and into Europe or a further destabilization of the formerly halfway functioning world trade.
In order to be able to finance this discrepancy between taxes and expenditure at all, necessary but unprofitable jobs must either be automated or outsourced to low-wage countries. As we are now finding out, the latter can only succeed in a functioning world economy based on the division of labour.
The remaining jobs in Europe must either be highly profitable, because they almost completely finance the entire social system, or they must be absolutely necessary for the functioning of our European society. In the case of the latter, it would then have to be imperative that these jobs are designed and staffed as efficiently as possible.
The biggest obstacle to this third fundamental problem is the first fundamental problem itself, namely that we create and maintain far too many bogus jobs unnecessarily for the system. This includes the entire so-called second and third labor market, which, no matter how you look at it, is ultimately always a problem for our society. Even if you justify it with the fact that everyone is entitled to realize themselves through work or if you point out that these people could later return to the primary job market. But then I only claim that part that we don't need or can hardly afford.
If one can still dismiss the second and third labor market as a pure luxury problem that one would like to be able to continue to afford, one must nevertheless and increasingly point out the larger part of bogus work, namely by a good 50% of administrative employees and a good 80% of bank employees , insurance companies or tax advisors. Even if this sham work should support the system, it destroys it by preventing the filling of actually necessary jobs. Let's not talk about the train drivers who like to go on strike, whose absence would help our society as a whole and make local and long-distance public transport more functional. We all know other such jobs that put people into work, but overall only damage our current social system.
And so it doesn't help that we bring as many people as possible, and certainly not new immigrants, into low wages. Considered as a whole, even the most efficient cheap hair clipper or doner kebab seller will not be of any benefit to our current social system. If we want to employ these people, whether they were born here or have just moved here, then either in highly profitable jobs or in work that is absolutely necessary for society, such as B. care.
I see only one viable way out of these three basic problems mentioned above, namely by elevating education to a basic civic duty and effectively and sustainably sanctioning the lack of educational efforts. All in all, we have to make our society more efficient and only accept and tolerate bogus work in very few exceptions.
Work has to be so expensive that you have to be able to afford it and want to. Anyone who cannot or does not want to work will continue to be officially supported by the social system and will either find a socially relevant job for themselves or try their luck with drugs, in a virtual world or simply watch TV and YouTube all day long. Videos — or sit in hot tubs like our cousins.
If we manage to keep our economy and society as efficient and profitable as possible, then we will be able to maintain our existing social system for quite a while.
Ultimately, however, our social system will collapse, because the inequality in the world described above will have to be compensated for and will do so - whether we want it or not!
The only chance would be if we could gradually develop the rest of the world so that it approaches our own level - but even here the approximation would be mutual!
Unfortunately, however, we as a society will react differently and will continue to try to keep up illusionary worlds for as long as possible.
Addendum 19.8.2023
Here's another food for thought from Twitter. The “qualified” workforce only carries out the rubbish.
