• Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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    5 days ago

    A bit over 100 years ago people left school at 12 to go work 6 or 7 days a week in a factory until they died.

    Things are better for the vast majority.

    • maegul (he/they)@lemmy.ml
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      5 days ago

      Well I’m not talking about general conditions or labour rights, which certainly make any historical comparisons in this particular issue difficult or meaningless. But rather how an ordinary office job was managed and conceived. And the nature of work too.

      Edit: specifically “knowledge” work, which has always been around. Generally though, I’m probably thinking of mainly boomer knowledge work, probably 60s-90s, as a historical comparison. I’ve just heard a few too many stories of someone totally checking out of their job, due to personal difficulties or whatever, and it being fine on a way that feels difficult to fit into todays “hustle culture” world.

      • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        40 years ago you left school and had no job prospect, high unemployment, high interest rates…

        30 years ago you left school and had no job prospect…

        20 years ago…

        The situation has always been shit in the USA except for a very short post-WW2 window. People need to stop believing that things were sooooo much better back in the day, it was an historical anomaly, accepting that is the first step to realize that something needs to change for good!

        • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
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          4 days ago

          Life in US has progressively been turned into shit over last 40 years with a few exceptions.

          These boomer talking points are getting old… Owner class and retiring boomers need working people to accept the current unacceptable conditions as wagie.

          • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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            4 days ago

            It’s still true that the boomer respite is just an historical anomaly, it doesn’t mean people shouldn’t wish for better living conditions, it just means that we shouldn’t settle for what they got because we were can see, it didn’t last!

            • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
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              4 days ago

              It did not last because boomers sold out their kids for 401k and mcmansions.

              Owner class was able to convince them to do this with out much afford tbh.