Newminimalists are prepared for this 2020 cross-over world.
We have learnt, over the past 3 months, who is essential to us in this world and who is not. And the essential people are not who we thought they were. We have tended to discount the essential workers because we deluded ourselves with the absurd notion that we were really needed to serve society.
For example, no too long ago Lighthouse Keepers were essential to our shipping lanes. Many of them lived on site with their families. But today these Lighthouses work without their constant inputs and so those workers are no longer deemed to be essential [see photo].
Today we have discovered that the people who stack shelves in a Supermarket, drive trucks, grow and harvest crops, deliver milk to the bottling or packaging lines, and so on and so. These people have kept us [those who are self-isolating] alive and fully stocked with everything we need including toilet paper. Yet these people remain stranded at the bottom of the food chain in term of recognition and compensation. They are underpaid/undervalued by our society in an economy that values "fluff" [social science, video blogs, media, etc] much more than a handyman with field experience and critical skill sets.
Since I traveled through India way back in my youth: I have seen the paradox of those who live with great wealth [I rubbed shoulders with them there for the first time]. These people proved to be so reliant upon their servants. For instance, I remember when I first arrived in India that my host was about to sack all her servants because she caught them stealing from her. She had no concern for the people they supported back in their villages which shocked me. But she did have an immediate, and pressing, concern once she tried to recruit their replacements. There was no shortage of applicants for her to choose from; but, all these people were no better nor worse than those she had just fired. She discovered that she needed these new servants as much as they needed the money she would pay them. She needed them to run a household that existed to entertain, to impress, to boost her social standing, and so on and so on.
We live inside a cross-over world wherein the supermarket shelf stacker is a hero whereas many of the stay-at-home worker have proved to be non-essential. Those who discovered that they provide a non-essential service to the world must be prepared to receive a lower and lower compensation as we move swiftly into the post-2020 economy. Meanwhile, those who have proven to be essential to all of us while this modern economy was shutdown must expect to receive better and better compensation as we move forward. But. They must also note that they live on the frontline of an economy that will replace them with AI automation because the "use value" they provide can be done in a very different way in an "on demand" system. However there are some unexpected aspects to the way things may actually turnout. For example, the shelf stackers at the local supermarket can only be replaced if the whole system is automated and that may depend upon our acceptance of 5G linked to facial identification and a cashless society.
But. Meanwhile corporate lawyers and their clerks will be automated. And so on and so on.
Richard.
Go to minimal-you.com if you would like to interact with me or learn more about how well the Newminimalists are set-up to survive and thrive in this cross-over economy and society.
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