Okay, WOWO is facing one of those energy/attention shortages that he experiences from time to time. So assuming the world of Asian American culture doesn’t either explode or collapse in the next week or so, WOWO is taking a vacation. I’ll probably be on here from time to time, but I may or may not post. Add me to your reader or sign up on Facebook. Apologies if this blog post is somewhat disjointed and rambling…that’s what happens during these mental burnout periods.
Anyway, Ross Douthat posted an article about jobs: A World Without Work, in which he talks about how there may not be enough jobs for people in the future. I’ve posted about this before–in particular about Douglas Rushkoff’s theory that we don’t really want jobs. Check out the video above with Rushkoff. I also have posted about Tyler Cowen’s theories about how big companies these days don’t create jobs. Douthat’s article is interesting, however, because it posits that we can actually afford to keep people not working. He says that we’re fine without jobs and that we can probably afford handing out food stamps (although we haven’t solved healthcare):
Many of the Americans dropping out of the work force are not destitute: they’re receiving disability payments and food stamps, living with relatives, cobbling together work here and there, and often doing as well as they might with a low-wage job. By historical standards their lives are more comfortable than the left often allows, and the fiscal cost of their situation is more sustainable than the right tends to admits. (Medicare may bankrupt us, but food stamps probably will not.)
It’s not just America either. In Spain, there are more young people who are unemployed than are working. Britain has a million unemployed young people. This could very well be the new normal. People just don’t need that much, and machines produce most of what people need. The demand just isn’t there.
I think it’s interesting. It would definitely upend our whole focus on education and (ultimately) employment. In the same NY Times, there was also an article about the surplus in veterinarians. We’ve already heard lots about the surplus of lawyers. What a different world we would live in if, instead of being taught that we have to get an education so that we can work, we were taught to get educated so that we can just be smarter, and that we could rely on government for handouts or friends/family for basic necessities.
Of course, it changes our value system. As Douthat correctly notes, personal fulfillment doesn’t come easy when you can’t apply your talents in a meaningful (and hopefully profitable) way. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. Scary stuff.
On a side note, the current second book on my reading list is Shop Class as Soulcraft, which is a book by a PhD who owns a motorcycle repair shop about why skilled manual labor is valuable and how not everyone should be funneled into the “knowledge economy.” From Amazon:
Called “the sleeper hit of the publishing season” (The Boston Globe), Shop Class as Soulcraft became an instant bestseller, attracting readers with its radical (and timely) reappraisal of the merits of skilled manual labor. On both economic and psychological grounds, author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a “knowledge worker,” based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing. Using his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford presents a wonderfully articulated call for self-reliance and a moving reflection on how we can live concretely in an ever more abstract world.
This is skilled manual labor, i.e. knowing how to fix stuff. I’ve started fixing stuff around the house, and I agree that there’s a lot of pride in having that ability and know-how. (It’s a whole lot different from some of the jobs I had early in my career, which were soul-crushing and pointless–young people, take note!)
Feel free to read this book. Expect a review in the near future.
Signing out for now. 
“So assuming the world of Asian American culture doesn’t either explode or collapse in the next week or so, WOWO is taking a vacation”.
I’m waiting for Tiger Mom Amy Chua to comment about this matter. It’s unfathomable for Asians to not work. It’s almost unacceptable for Asians to start their own thing, with our parents browbeating us that being an employee is more of a ticket to financial security and happiness.
“This is skilled manual labor, i.e. knowing how to fix stuff. I’ve started fixing stuff around the house, and I agree that there’s a lot of pride in having that ability and know-how”
Haha, same here. I and my husband really enjoyed our experiences of fixing stuff around house and we kind of addicted to that now.
@ Wowo
Curious, any of this burnout have to do with moderating Chr? I can’t even begin to imagine how many times he’s tried to reply to my posts but got rejected. Probably been reading a bunch of weird stuff.
Actually, it does have to some somewhat with Chr. It would seem to be the easiest thing in the world to come up with 20 positive posts. He could even write about his own family if he doesn’t like the Asians in the media. But he won’t even do that.
I think both HE and I are going to take a vacation for a while. Sorry, Chr. I need the break.
ChineseMom,
It’s a different side of the brain. It’s fascinating how many ways there are to use one’s mind.
(I haven’t checked out the Ping Fu stuff, but I will when I get back.)
[I'm approving this one just for shits and giggles. Because Asian Americans are all like Maoists. Some Asian Americans must've stuck Chr in a forced labor camp or something.]
“It would seem to be the easiest thing in the world to come up with 20 positive posts. He could even write about his own family if he doesn’t like the Asians in the media. But he won’t even do that”.
I just talked about the tramway and Asians. I also provided references of an Asian rock band which I like. You’re asking too much, and you are also asking me to change my viewpoints of something that always seemed negative to me. It’s like asking those overseas Chinese who fled Mao to think of something positive about him.
LOL!
Chr is lucky you didn’t ban him after him posting that woman’s e-mail on here. One has to wonder what motivates someone to continue trying to speak on a blog when he clearly isn’t wanted here. This 20 positive post challenge was issued months ago. He only can muster up 2 things that are remotely positive? Guy has got a problem.
Since this seems to be an almost open comment post… has nobody seen the trailer for
21 and over?
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/21-and-over/#vlbox
Can’t quite decide if its a good thing or bad. The Jeff Chang character is a bit like a prop in the preview. But he is on the front of the movie poster and makes out with a white gal.
So I am going to say goodish. WOWO you could create a post this maybe? Easy one, no need to write a lot.
@ Lingyai
Why is he standing on top of a squad car naked with a teddy bear wrapped around his wiener parts?
He went out partying with his two friend (white) on his birthday.
It is a crazy party night type movie where he then later passes out and his friend drag him around. At least this is what I got from the preview.
You mean like Weekend at Bernie’s except instead of a dead White guy, it’s a live Asian guy?
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/berniewwek.jpg
Lingyai wrote: Can’t quite decide if its a good thing or bad. The Jeff Chang character is a bit like a prop in the preview. But he is on the front of the movie poster and makes out with a white gal. – See more at: http://www.bigwowo.com/2013/02/should-we-be-getting-away-from-focusing-on-jobs/#sthash.MNRLe8Hm.dpuf
I don’t understand why I see Asian dudes get all excited about seeing an Asian guy making out with a white girl in a movie. Just like those PUA guys who get excited as well. They aren’t any better than us. The first step in Asian activism starts with not giving a shit about inconsequential stuff like that.
I’m sorry, that guy making out with a white girl will not equal you making out with a white girl. Jeremy Lin doing well in the NBA will not help you get a white girl.
I’ve dated many white girls in my life and never got excited about seeing that stuff.
Can you imagine a black woman on a site bragging about seeing a black woman make out with a white guy in a movie? Think about it.
And that movie looks lame.
@Moroboshi
You might be reading a little to much into what I wrote.
I am not PUA supporter or saying white girls are better or anything like that.
It is more that the most prominent character is an younger Asian male, it is not a martial arts movie, and he makes out with chicks. This is doesn’t happen to often. I mention it is white gal as white gals are a more “mainstream” in movies.
I am not saying white gales are better or worse than any other type. But is good to show Asian males as viable romantic partners.
I don’t think your analogy works in this case. Black women are less likely to be romantic leads in movies yes, but there are still a decent amount of examples where they have been. This is not the case with Asian males. The whole reason I am pointing out this movie.
As to the quality, it is not Oscar award winner, but for the type of dumb movie it is the preview looks better than many other movies in its party movie category.
Lingyai,
Sure.
Here it is:
http://www.bigwowo.com/2013/02/new-kind-of-asian-american-portrayal/
Fair enough. I’m not sold on it yet. From the trailer, the Asian guy does not look like one of the main characters but kind of playing the missing guy in both “Hangovers” and used as a device for some cheap Asian jokes you couldn’t get away with if you cast an African American. Then again, I have not seen it and could be wrong. It’s a wait and see kind of thing. I’ll wait for the reviews.
Speaking about Asian actors getting shafted, this movie is suppose to be about the Bling Ring. I thought the mastermind was an Asian girl? I guess the story is going to focus on one of the white girls instead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bling_Ring
No one is really raising a stink about this one but I think if things are going to be fair Asians should be fairly cast not only as heroes i.e. THE LAST AIRBENDER but criminals as well.