Inspired by another thread: The Gig Economy:

[Moonbeam]

The 4 Things You Need to Thrive in the Gig Economy

Approximately 150 million people in North America and Western Europe now work as independent contractors, most of them in knowledge-intensive industries and creative occupations. The authors studied 65 of them in depth and learned that although they feel a host of personal, social, and economic...

hbr.org

Is the satisfaction of personal success with no certainty of it continuing into the future worth the price?

Imagine if we had green skin that could synthesize all the nutrients we would need to survive from sun and soil. One of the most memorable science fiction books I ever read, don't remember the name or the author, was about a forest dwelling people who lived in bio-engineered trees that had hollows within that people lived in. Basically, all their needs were met by eating the sap of those trees. Imagine if we had a survival level assured income suffient to survive joblessness. Would people simply wind up unproductive?

Do you think it is personal weakness or conditioning that makes some people unfit in adopting to the modern world, or are we going in the wrong direction?

 

[fskimospy]

The 4 Things You Need to Thrive in the Gig Economy

Approximately 150 million people in North America and Western Europe now work as independent contractors, most of them in knowledge-intensive industries and creative occupations. The authors studied 65 of them in depth and learned that although they feel a host of personal, social, and economic...

hbr.org

Is the satisfaction of personal success with no certainty of it continuing into the future worth the price?

Imagine if we had green skin that could synthesize all the nutrients we would need to survive from sun and soil. One of the most memorable science fiction books I ever read, don't remember the name or the author, was about a forest dwelling people who lived in bio-engineered trees that had hollows within that people lived in. Basically, all their needs were met by eating the sap of those trees. Imagine if we had a survival level assured income suffient to survive joblessness. Would people simply wind up unproductive?

Do you think it is personal weakness or conditioning that makes some people unfit in adopting to the modern world, or are we going in the wrong direction?

I'm not sure if this article accurately describes the 'gig economy', at least as it's been commonly defined in recent years. At least to me the gig economy means like uber drivers, doordash people, etc. Like by the article's definition why wouldn't an independent doctor's office be a gig economy job?

 

[Moonbeam]

I'm not sure if this article accurately describes the 'gig economy', at least as it's been commonly defined in recent years. At least to me the gig economy means like uber drivers, doordash people, etc. Like by the article's definition why wouldn't an independent doctor's office be a gig economy job?

As I was until hours ago aware of the term, not to say I wasn’t aware of the phenomenon, I am inclined to agree. However the accuracy of the definition, assured lifetime employment seems to be a thing of the past, a benefit lost to Harvard Business School, bean counters, etc. Nore and more, it looks like a world in which it every man for himself, a system that guarantees losers struggling to just survive. All I see in that is fear driven mental illness and ultimate social collapse. Predation only works when there’s prey.

The sword of God is the empty bellies of the poor. A saying

 

[hal2kilo]

As I was until hours ago aware of the term, not to say I wasn’t aware of the phenomenon, I am inclined to agree. However the accuracy of the definition, assured lifetime employment seems to be a thing of the past, a benefit lost to Harvard Business School, bean counters, etc. Nore and more, it looks like a world in which it every man for himself, a system that guarantees losers struggling to just survive. All I see in that is fear driven mental illness and ultimate social collapse. Predation only works when there’s prey.

The sword of God is the empty bellies of the poor. A saying

It's how billionaires keep up distracted, just trying to survive mentally. No direction home.

 

[brycejones]

The 'gig' economy is just a way to dick over workers by making them disposable while giving them less. If this is truly the direction the overall economy is heading then we need to rethink how people get the benefits they get from employers to day.

Healthcare, time off (PTO and sick time), protections from injuries, retirement benefits (we've killed off pensions and "replaced" them with 401ks but gig workers don't get those benefits so we're heading further down the path of setting up 10s of millions of Americans to have to work until the day they die.

 

[Moonbeam]

It's how billionaires keep up distracted, just trying to survive mentally. No direction home.

As in, the government and or unions create laws or contracts that provide employee benefits so companies fire their workers and replace them with contract people who are not accorded them unless they buy their own insurances? I read, “ Keep us” rather than “ keep up”.

 

[hal2kilo]

As in, the government and or unions create laws or contracts that provide employee benefits so companies fire their workers and replace them with contract people who are not accorded them unless they buy their own insurances? I read, “ Keep us” rather than “ keep up”.

Yep. It should have been us.

 

[Moonbeam]

Are we looking at what motivates the elites to be working so hard to destroy democracy? An enlightened people would put a stop to all of this. Saved by the bell of a bought and paid government, particularly the Supreme Court.