Kent writes:
>Here's an assumption about work in the future:
> Work is a way of distributing wealth in return for the serious
> and continuous engagement of one's powers.
I would suggest that this an an assumption of work today, and
hopefully will not be the dominant or only assumption of work in the
future.
While of necessity (?) paid work and consumptive power are related, the
relationship is clearly not an equitable one; all around us are example of
folks who work hard, diligently, sincerely, and receive little by way of
compensation. We see the opposite, as well. More importantly, though,
the continued focus STRICTLY on profit and wealth as purposes for work,
IMO, only serves to perpetuate the idea that worth and wealth are
synonymous.
Infrequently do we ask, why is wealth important?
If we could/would but answer this, perhaps looking beyond consumptive
power, we might then be better able to cultivate a social future worthy of
embracing, by joining those goals with our work practices. I also think
there are more reasons to work than wealth, and research suggests that
financial incentives are relatively low ranking in terms of importance to
most people. Psychosocial interests generally take precedence, if I
remember correctly. That explains why people who don't need to work, do.
And perhaps also why people are often drawn to certain activity regardless
of whether or not it is efficient.
An aside: How do the rest of you answer the question, why is wealth
important? Not just a surface kind of answer, like for organizational
survival or paying the family bills, but the more essential answer? Maybe
I'm wrong, but I'd guess most of you would answer similarly: that
organizational survival is important in order to provide jobs for people;
jobs are important so that people can care for themselves, their families,
their communities, the earth. Or to contribute something meaningful to
others. Or to cultivate personal talents and abilities. Or to otherwise
live life more fully. How different might our workplaces be if we kept
these assumptions, as goals, in front of us--NOT replacing wealth, but at
least alongside it?
I sometimes think we sell ourselves short by keeping money as the bottom
line. I'll step off my soapbox now . . .
--Terri Deems tdeems@unlgrad1.unl.edu
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>