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![josef pieper
»‘Deproletarianizing’ would mean: enlargening the scope of life
beyond the confines of merely useful servile work, and widening
the sphere of servile work the the advantage of the liberal arts
[which are an end in themselves]; and this process ... can only
be carried out by combining three things: by giving the wage-
earner the opportunity to save and acquire property, by limiting
the power of the state, and by overcoming the inner
impoverishment of the individual.«
leisure: the basis of culture (1952: 40)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/vortrag151124mitpalacesintime-161113183047/75/Design-Against-Productivity-117-2048.jpg)
Uploaded bySebastian Deterding
Design Against Productivity
This document discusses the concept of productivity and leisure. It suggests that while technology was meant to reduce work and increase leisure, modern technologies and apps have instead led to overwork, less productivity, and less well-being. Cultural and economic factors like secular Calvinism, the Horatio Alger myth, inequality, and precarity serve to reinforce this system. The document argues for rethinking productivity to focus on well-being, flourishing, reflection, and leisure instead of endless work and "hacking" one's life. It draws on thinkers like Aristotle, Weber, Pieper, and Keynes to advocate for economies of leisure instead of work.
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Design Against Productivity
- 1. palaces in time designingagainst productivity Sebastian Deterding (@dingstweets) MIT Advancing Wellbeing Series, November 24, 2015 c b
- 2.
- 15. john maynard keynes »Technologicalunemployment ... means in the long run that mankind is solving its economic problem. Thus for the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem – how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy the leisure, ... to live wisely and agreeably and well.« economic possibilities for our grandchildren (1930) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 16.
- 17.
- 20.
- 24.
- 25.
- 26.
- 27.
- 28.
- 29. Give us our timeback!
- 30. we are the thievesof time
- 31. henry david thoreau »Thereare a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root« walden (1854) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 32. who are the thievesof time?
- 33.
- 35. horatio alger »Now, inthe boot-blacking business, as well as in higher avocations, the same rule prevails, that energy and industry are rewarded, and indolence suffers. Dick was energetic and on the alert for business, but Johnny the reverse. The consequence was that Dick earned probably three times as much as the other.« ragged dick, or, street life in new york with the boot blacks (1868)
- 36. benjamin franklin »In short,the Way to Wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the Way to Market. It depends chiefly on two Words, Industry and Frugality; i.e. Waste neither Time nor Money, but make the best Use of both. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary Expences excepted) will certainly become Rich« advice to a young tradesman (1748) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 38. max weber »The peculiarityof this philosophy of avarice appears to be ... the idea of a duty of the individual toward the increase of his capital, which is assumed an end in itself. Truly what is here preached is not simply a means of making one’s way in the world, but a peculiar ethic.« the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1930: 51)
- 39. max weber »If wethus ask, why should ‘money be made of men’, Benjamin Franklin himself … answers in his autobiography with a quotation from the Bible, which his strict Calvinistic father drummed into him again and again in his youth: ‘Seest though a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings’ (Prov. xxii. 29). The earning of money is ... the result and the expression of virtue and proficiency in a calling.« the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1930: 53)
- 40. max weber »On earthman must, to be certain of his state of grace, ‘do the works of him who sent him, as long as it is yet day.’ Not leisure and enjoyment, but only activity serves to increase the glory of God ... Waste of time is thus the first and in principle the deadliest of sins.« the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1930: 157)
- 41. max weber »the stateof grace ... could not be guaranteed by any magical sacraments, by relief in the confession, nor by individual good works. That was only possible by proof in a specific type of conduct unmistakably different from the way of life of the natural man. From that followed for the individual an incentive methodically to supervise his own state of grace in his own conduct, and thus to penetrate it with asceticism.« the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1930: 153)
- 44.
- 45.
- 46. and quantified selfapps …
- 47.
- 50. “technologies of theself”
- 52.
- 53.
- 54. learn to hackyour own life …
- 55. … from thepros.
- 56. http://instagram.com/p/KTOGobADKa crunch that crunch!hack that hackathon!
- 57. http://instagram.com/p/KTOGobADKa shred that fat!waste not a second!
- 58. http://instagram.com/p/KTOGobADKa burn that midnightoil, burn it!
- 59. win that gameof productivity!
- 60.
- 61. max weber »Not leisureand enjoyment, but only activity serves to increase the glory of God ... Waste of time is thus the first and in principle the deadliest of sins.« the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1930: 157)
- 62.
- 63.
- 65. this is spartaamazon!
- 66. gianpiero petriglieri »The trulytalented, we are told, flee obligations to work themselves into the ground. And yet they appear to love opportunities to do so, if presented in the guise of solving big problems, learning, and pushing themselves further.« is overwork killing you? (2015)
- 68. gianpiero petriglieri »I (Over)WorkTherefore I Am. ... Work becomes a passionate pursuit and a form of self-expression. In a workplace that has co- opted the accoutrements of romance and religion, where CEOs have visions and passionate managers are work martyrs, productivity is not the only aim. Passion, after all, has no concern for efficiency and martyrdom has never been about getting things done. Both have always been about expressing virtue and devotion. And people have long endured pains and trials to claim a valued self, with the belonging and expression it affords.« is overwork killing you? (2015)
- 69. erving goffman »Many godshave been done away with, but the individual himself stubbornly remains as a deity of considerable importance.« interaction ritual (1967: 95)
- 70. max weber »Work hardin your calling. ... This peculiar idea, so familiar to us to-day, but in reality so little a matter of course, of one’s duty in a calling, is what is most characteristic of the social ethic of capitalistic culture, and is in a sense the fundamental basis of it. It is an obligation which the individual is supposed to feel and does feel towards the content of his professional activity, no matter in what it consists« the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1930: 54)
- 71.
- 72.
- 73. issue #1 more productivity ≠more well-being
- 74. issue #2 more work =less well-being
- 75. longer work hours less productivity morestress less time for sleep good food exercise positive experiences socialising family less focus, critical thinking, creativity; more errors more work- family conflict less well-being metabolic syndrome heart disease weight gain hypertension sleeplessness anxiety depression immune suppression Perlow & Porter, 2009; Solovieva, Lallukka, Virtanen et al., 2013; Yamada et al., 2013; Bannai & Tamakoshi, 2014; Goh, Pfeffer & Zenios, 2015
- 76. longer work hours less productivity less well-being whatkeeps this engine running?
- 77. longer work hours less productivity less well-being inequality& precariousness McNamara, Bohle & Quinlan, 2010
- 79. longer work hours less productivity less well-being inequality& precariousness what keeps this engine running? McNamara, Bohle & Quinlan, 2010
- 80. longer work hours less productivity less well-being inequality& precariousness secular calvinism the alger myth
- 81. Implicit theory ofsocial changeresponsibilisation of self
- 82. “when discipline isreinforced, revolution cannot fail!”
- 83.
- 85. Chetty et al.2014, 2014a
- 86. benjamin franklin »In short,the Way to Wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the Way to Market. It depends chiefly on two Words, Industry and Frugality; i.e. Waste neither Time nor Money, but make the best Use of both. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary Expences excepted) will certainly become Rich; If that Being who governs the World, to whom all should look for a Blessing on their honest Endeavours, doth not in his wise Providence otherwise determine.« advice to a young tradesman (1748) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 87. benjamin franklin »In short,the Way to Wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the Way to Market. It depends chiefly on two Words, Industry and Frugality; i.e. Waste neither Time nor Money, but make the best Use of both. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary Expences excepted) will certainly become Rich; If that Being who governs the World, to whom all should look for a Blessing on their honest Endeavours, doth not in his wise Providence otherwise determine.« advice to a young tradesman (1748) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 88. longer work hours less productivity less well-being inequality& precariousness secular calvinism the alger myth what keeps this engine running?
- 89. the capital sinof acedia issue #4
- 90. josef pieper »At thezenith of the Middle Ages, ... it was held that sloth and restlessness, ‘leisurelessness’, the incapacity to enjoy leisure, were all closely connected; sloth was held to be the source of restlessness, and the ultimate cause of ‘work for work’s sake’.« leisure: the basis of culture (1952: 23) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 91. josef pieper »Acedia meansthat a man does not, in the last resort, give the consent of his will to his own being; that behind or beneath the dynamic activity of his existence, he is still not at one with himself, ... he is a prey to sadness.« leisure: the basis of culture (1952: 24) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 92.
- 93. ben horowitz »Technology means‘a better way of doing things.’ Making a better way of storing information, a better currency, or a better way of making friends means improving on thousands of years of human experience and is therefore extraordinarily difficult. ... The technology startup world is where brilliant people come to imagine the impossible.« can-do vs. can’t-do culture (2014) http://recode.net/2014/01/01/can-do-vs-cant-do-culture/
- 94. marc andreessen »The keyattribute of disruptive innovation is a new product for a previously underserved market – typically cheaper than existing product. This is inherently pro- consumer ... It’s about creation – new products, new choices, for more people. ... Disruptive innovation shrinks inequality, by bringing to lower-income consumers things that only richer consumers had access to before.« what disruption is really about (2014) http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/02/marc-andreessen-teaches-startups-what-disruption-is-really-about-in-17-tweets/
- 96. gianpiero petriglieri »Seen thisway, overwork is not defined by the amount of our day work occupies but by the amount of our selves tied up to it. We “over”work not when we work too hard but when working becomes less of a means and more of an end. When meditation, exercise, sleep, holidays, and even parenting, are cast as tools to make us better workers.« is overwork killing you? (2015)
- 97.
- 98.
- 99. josef pieper »Is therea sphere of human activity ... that does not need to be justified by inclusion in a five-year plan and its technical organization? … Can man develop to the full as a ‘worker’ and nothing else; can a full human existence be contained within an exclusively workaday existence?« leisure: the basis of culture (1952: 19–20) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 100.
- 102. »If, then, thereis some end of the thing we do, which we desire for its own sake (everything else being desired for the sake of this), … clearly this must be the good and the chief good.« Aristotle nichomachean ethics (1.1094a)
- 103. »Now such athing happiness, above all else, is held to be.« Aristotle nichomachean ethics (1097b)
- 104. Not seeking pleasure& avoiding pain
- 105. εὐδαιμονία Well-being, flourishing, thegood life: »the exercise of the rational faculties of the soul in conformity with excellence or virtue, or if there be several, the best and most final one.« Aristotle nichomachean ethics (1098a)
- 106. »If we understandthe ergon of a human being as self-concordance, then self- knowledge and the perfection of the analytic, navigational, and motivational competencies (to realize it) are the virtues.« Hope May aristotle‘s ethics (2010: 148)
- 107.
- 108. »It is clearthat the virtues relating to leisure are essential; since, as has been said repeatedly, peace is the end of war, leisure of business.« Aristotle politics (7.1334a)
- 109. josef pieper »The pointand justification of leisure are not that the functionary should function faultlessly and without a breakdown, but that the functionary should continue to be a man – he should not be fully absorbed in the clear-cut milieu of his strictly limited function; ... he should continue to be capable of seeing life as a whole and the world as a whole; that he should fulfil himself, and come to full possession of his faculties, face to face with being as a whole.« leisure: the basis of culture (1952: 31) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 110.
- 111.
- 112.
- 113. the political unconsciousof technology criticism
- 114. john maynard keynes »Technologicalunemployment ... means in the long run that mankind is solving its economic problem. Thus for the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem – how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy the leisure, ... to live wisely and agreeably and well.« economic possibilities for our grandchildren (1930) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 115. they are the thievesof time
- 116. longer work hours less productivity less well-being economic precariousness secular calvinism lesstime for reflection less time for political action
- 117. josef pieper »‘Deproletarianizing’ wouldmean: enlargening the scope of life beyond the confines of merely useful servile work, and widening the sphere of servile work the the advantage of the liberal arts [which are an end in themselves]; and this process ... can only be carried out by combining three things: by giving the wage- earner the opportunity to save and acquire property, by limiting the power of the state, and by overcoming the inner impoverishment of the individual.« leisure: the basis of culture (1952: 40) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225060960537.htm
- 118. livingprinciples.org where are oureconomic equality design principles?
- 119. where is theequitable proposition design template?
- 120. where are thecampaigns that make worker rights sexy?
- 121. where are thefinancial innovation hackathons?
- 122.
- 123.
- 124.
- 125.
- 126.
- 127.
- 128.
- 129.
- 130.
- 131. speed up slowdown reduce seams interrupt abundance constraint behaviours Intentions doing receiving improve “how” ask “what for”
- 132. Marc Hassenzahl »With anaesthetic of convenience, you will never instil change. What you need, rather, is an aesthetic of friction.« towards an aesthetic of friction (2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehWdLEXSoh8
- 133.
- 134.
- 135.
- 136.
- 137.
- 138.
- 139. What vision of TheGood Life do you want to live?
- 140.