If Books Could Kill Bullshit Jobs
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Mar 5, 2026 Two podcasters spar over David Graeber's claim that many modern roles are pointless. They unpack five types of meaningless work like flunkies, goons, and box tickers. They debate whether administrative bloat grew with the service economy and why productivity gains did not lead to more leisure. They consider polls, empirical studies, and policy fixes such as shorter workweeks and basic income.
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What Graeber Means By Bullshit Job
- David Graeber defines a bullshit job as paid work so pointless the worker cannot justify it and must pretend otherwise.
- The hosts agree the definition is extreme and note many jobs contain both meaningful and meaningless hours, not a binary label.
Graeber's Anecdote Driven Evidence
- Graeber compiled hundreds of anecdotes from readers describing pointless tasks to illustrate his categories.
- Peter and Michael find those submissions fun but warn the dataset is self-selecting and not rigorous evidence.
The Care Home Box Ticking Story
- Example of box ticking: a care-home coordinator who spent most time filling forms that were logged then ignored.
- Michael and Peter relate trivial bureaucratic steps like retyping an online form at a government office as memorable waste.
