Why We Shouldn't Stop Working

Our society is addicted to work. Work has become our badge of moral citizenship. We seem to have convinced ourselves that anyone who isn't working harder than they would like, but something they don't enjoy, is a bad or worthy person. As a result, work comes to absorb ever greater proportions of our energy and time. Useless work crowds out useful, think you're teachers and nurses over home to paperwork. It's also almost invariably better compensated. The more obviously your work benefits other people, the less they pay you. If we really want to save the world, we're going to have to stop working so much. 70% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide come from infrastructure,. energy transport