Bullshit Jobs

David Graeber, 2018

Millions are paid to do work they themselves think is pointless. Graeber asks why such jobs multiply, why they hurt, and why no one treats this as a problem.

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8 parts, about 29 minutes to read.

Why read it

Defines a bullshit job as paid work so pointless the holder cannot justify it yet must pretend otherwise
Sorts pointless work into five types, flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers and taskmasters, each shown through workers' own testimonies
Traces why society tolerates pointless work to old ideas of work as a moral duty, then weighs Universal Basic Income as a remedy

Who it is for

Office workers who suspect their own job makes no difference
Managers who wonder how much of their team's work is needed
Readers questioning why society ties pay and worth to work

What the summary covers

Preface: On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs3 min
What Is a Bullshit Job?3 min
What Sorts of Bullshit Jobs Are There?4 min
Why People in Bullshit Jobs Are Unhappy4 min
What It Is Like to Have a Bullshit Job3 min
Why Bullshit Jobs Are Proliferating3 min
Why We as a Society Do Not Object to Pointless Work5 min
The Political Effects of Bullshit Jobs and What Can Be Done4 min

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About the author

David GraeberAnthropologist and activist who died in 2020
- Master's degree and doctorate from the University of Chicago; 20 months of fieldwork in rural Madagascar from 1989 on a Fulbright
- Assistant professor at Yale from 1998
- Yale did not renew his contract in 2005
- Professor at the London School of Economics from 2013
- Credited by Rolling Stone with the Occupy Wall Street theme 'We are the 99 percent' (November 2011)
- Died suddenly in Venice on 2 September 2020