And then understand that money is nothing but frozen time and productivity. It's among the most glorious of inventions. I can work my ass off when I'm young and able to stand it, freeze that effort via money, and then expend that value when I'm 73 and no longer able to work. Absolutely brilliant.
There is no escape from having to possess something to trade (skill, time, money, objects of value, etc) in order to feed yourself or have shelter, or have clothing. Stop torturing yourself by wishing there was.
The only choice you have, is how you burn your time. You can be a 9 to 5 low wage worker; you can be a 9 to 5 high wage worker. You can be an entrepreneur. You can try to lead a basic life as a farmer. You can get rich, and then spend your remaining time doing whatever you want with that vast sum of frozen productivity.
However, you are probably right in saying that one shouldn't tortute oneself thinking about all this. It is unlikely my thoughts or feelings will change anything, and the only option left is to work hard to become a part of the system.
The native would probably disagree with the `unclaimed' bit.
Yes, trading value must be necessary in a system with scarcity.
But most of the things that make work a struggle for me are simply not necessary at all.
It's not necessary to have nonsense like a few weeks of holiday. The UK is far better than the US in this regard and still we get only a few weeks.
It's not necessary for there to be ludicrous entrenched inequality, which results in most employment being with a mega corporation.
I could go on but I lack the energy, I've had this discussion too many times to count.
The issue is the way in which the system seems artificially set up to benefit the rich. In the UK homes are unaffordable for most of the population now in a way that wasn't the case a few decades ago. That means that the idea of saving for retirement is a total dream for anyone other than a tiny elite of workers.
Which our system is becoming less and less like thanks to automation - so at this point I really hope that people will drop this stupid meme that "everyone has to work" and push towards basic income. I'd provide much more real value to people around me and worldwide if I didn't have to worry about money that much.
Also, many (if not most) of the jobs related to tech sector, and especially web development, are bullshit anyways. We're cogs in the machine of advertising, which is a) harmful to society, and b) powered by negative feedback loops that can suck in infinite amount of labour and resources for no value to show.
You can instead choose to live in a slightly different system that only overlaps the "system" in a few meaningful points. You can, for instance, avoid going in to debt or living beyond your means, allowing you to live for a fraction of what your peers require. That would let you work less. Like months per year less in order to cover your expenses.
That would give you a lot more freedom to pick and choose better gigs from better employers. Better still, could choose to program computers for a living, giving you the advantage of a much higher bill rate than most folks in that "system", as well as the option to do all you work remotely for clients you've never met face to face.
So yeah, sell your time and soul, but only tiny fractions, and on your own terms. That's one of the cool perks of this career you've chosen.
