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submitted 2 years ago by matcha_addict@lemy.lol to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

I often daydream about how society would be if we were not forced by society to pigeon hole ourselves into a specialized career for maximizing the profits of capitalists, and sell most of our time for it.

The idea of creating an entire identity for you around your "career" and only specializing in one thing would be ridiculous in another universe. Humans have so much natural potential for breadth, but that is just not compatible with capitalism.

This is evident with how most people develop "hobbies" outside of work, like wood working, gardening, electronics, music, etc. This idea of separating "hobbies" and the thing we do most of our lives (work) is ridiculous.

Here's how my world could be different if I owned my time and dedicated it to the benefit of my own and my community instead of capitalists:

  • more reading, learning and excusing knowledge with others.
  • learn more handy work, like plumbing and wood working. I love customizing my own home!
  • more gardening
  • participate in the transportation system (picking up shifts to drive a bus for example)
  • become a tour guide for my city
  • cook and bake for my neighbors
  • academic research
  • open source software (and non-software) contributions
  • pick up shifts at a café and make coffee, tea and smoothies for people
  • pick up shifts to clean up public spaces, such as parks or my own neighborhood
  • participate in more than one "professions". I studied one type of engineering but work in a completely different engineering. This already proves I can do both, so why not do both and others?

Humans do not like the same thing over and over every day. It's unnatural. But somehow we revolve our whole livelihood around if.

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[-] mub@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Gymnastics, surfing, and study and write philosophical works. And maybe practice guitar.

[-] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago

I would be what I am now, just a more "official" version of it, since what I do is akin to a paid hobby and has no firmly nested societal position. But that's assuming what I do would be valued in other types of societies either (it's just barely valued in Capitalism). I know a Marxist society most likely wouldn't value what I do as it's only a necessity-based job on a technical level. And it would have little relevance in Distributism, I think. Mutualism is a coin toss.

[-] matcha_addict@lemy.lol 4 points 2 years ago

What do you do now?

[-] sturmblast@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

I'd be writing a lot more music

[-] Nobsi@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

I would offer people money to work for me.
And then i would help them optimize their brainspace to be more efficient at helping me.
I would allow them to use my workshop to create things that benefit the community. Like tools and Labor.
I would keep watch over the water and electrical lines and repair and service them if needed.
I would train people to do that for me and pay them.

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[-] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I'd probably still be a mechanical engineer, but maybe I could have gotten some more education in the direction of nuclear power and/or automation. I might have also had another kid instead of just one.

Edit: I'd also like to learn and get good at welding. It would be cool to not only engineer a nuclear power plant, but to help actually build it as well. Then again, I'd probably never get good enough at welding to do so unless I devoted myself to the trade. Maybe I could just get some shifts as a plant operator after it's built.

[-] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Probably sleep or do gamedev in a full time fashion.

I would love to do more with animation especially non-traditional animation like LED or Pinscreen, but the barrier of entry is just too high.

[-] bermuda@beehaw.org 3 points 2 years ago

Rock climbing. I got into over summer but I only have time to go once or twice a week at most. And that's just indoors. A whole outdoor trip would take way too much of my time, time that I don't have.

[-] shapesandstuff@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

I think about this at least a little bit most days.

I'd finish some video games again.

Work on more music, ideally practice piani again to get my theory back on track.

Make projects, communal gardening etc..

Outside the selfish self-enrichment kinda stuff, teach kids programming, and participate more in my hema club.

[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Same thing I do now, but instead of full-time work / part-time student, I'd flip it to part-time work and full-time student.

I'm hanging on to the bottom step of the medical ladder - this field is fascinating as fuck, and even as just a tech I get a lot of satisfaction in my role (albeit minor relative to doctors or nurses) in helping others recover from whatever sickness/injury they present with.

Without the financial barriers and current need to work till exhaustion to afford rent, I'd be highly interested in going all the way to physician, but at the rate I'm able to actually afford the time and money to take classes, I'll be pushing 40 when I'm able to clear the hurdle from tech to nurse; and it already hurts to move half of my fucking joints, so once this nursing shit is finished, I don't see myself climbing any more ladders, literal or otherwise... at that point it'll just be the counting the days till retirement or planning out the most pleasurable way to commit suicide.

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[-] spiderjuzce@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 2 years ago

I would write and draw more. There's so many stories I wanna make. I might even take up some other medium like animation or something physical like sculpture or architecture. It would be fun to design spaces that don't need to have the soul sucked out of them to appear "mature" or "professional"

I feel like the fear of not making profits and not surviving pressures me into watering down everything I do so it's appealing to someone else. That's why art is strictly a hobby for me and not a career I wanna pursue

[-] Behaviorbabe@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

Something new every day. Create. Spend time with my children. Volunteer my time and knowledge.

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this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
384 points (100.0% liked)

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