Why a medieval peasant got more vacation time than you

reply to post by BayesLike


How a "decent life" is considered "Utopian" to you is beyond me.

Its because the 1% have put it in our minds that hard work and a lot of hours lead to more money and happiness and etc etc. But in reality they put us in debt with student loans and hand the world to us with plastic credit cards, so we basically slave away all day 40 plus hours 6 days a week (sometimes 7) only to barely get by. Its because it gives the 1% more control and income, and as the OP said it also keeps us so occupied that we are in many ways slaves unaware of whats really going on, but alas were "working hard" and getting somewhere.

Don't get me wrong I am appreciative of my job and all of that, but this isn't living, the way most people live, that's not how life should be. We age super quickly chasing this "American dream" which is a farce, and we lose touch of ourselves and our family, and even our God in many ways.

In many ways (I know this will sound awful) but I envy some of the children in Africa, the ones we are told "well you could be like those kids in Africa." Who yes have awful lives, but they live short and happy lives in many ways, and I would almost rather live a short fulfilled (albeit awful) life praising God. It beats living to be old and working towards retirement and all of this other stuff, and having to face so many moral issues in life as you move up, when really your moving down. So far I have done everything right in my life as I was raised etc, yet I feel so unhappy, I have so many moral issues in my life, and real life wise, my job sucks and college was a scam for me. I feel I have lost touch with who I am, and that life is just speeding up and I hate who I have become, like I have lost touch with myself and God.

End rant.

reply to post by honested3

But in reality they put us in debt with student loans and hand the world to us with plastic credit cards, so we basically slave away all day 40 plus hours 6 days a week (sometimes 7) only to barely get by.

They made me do it! They made me spend money I don't have and won't! It's not my fault. They made me do it!

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
reply to post by BayesLike

 

How a "decent life" is considered "Utopian" to you is beyond me.

There are endless claims made about those cultures which include states of society that are utopian in nature: no warfare, no hunger, no lack of clothing, adequate housing, little or no serious crime, essential equality,.... I say it's all political bull. That no such societies existed, no matter how much archaeologists would have liked those societies to have existed. The claims are often so absurd that I've wondered if the researchers felt they had to paint a utopian societal picture or be faced with not getting permits.

reply to post by benrl


The thing that irritates me the most is the fact that the majority of the population finds it normal to work so hard, and boo everyone who doesn't agree with it, calling them lazy.
They made us associate the word "slavery" only with shackles and masters whipping them if they don't do as they are told, or the black slavery 100 years ago or the Hebrews in the time of the ancient Egyptians and so on.

Talking about peasants, it reminds me of:

Originally posted by greavsie1971
I always find it a little crazy knowing americans get so little annual leave. Are there any other developed countries that are similar?

Yeah, I have never understand why Americans get so little annual leave. There is no way that I would take on a job unless there was at least 5 weeks annual leave, plus the bank holidays on top.....Even that's not enough

Surely in this day and age the American system could come up with better holiday time. Most Americans I have met when travelling say that they never really get more than two weeks a year. Bloody hell, there would be a riot over here in the UK, if that is all that was on offer..........

Originally posted by sonnny1
reply to post by benrl

 

We are all slaves to the dollar.

Not to mention slaves to our fellow human beings. Wipe out the entire concept of money as we know it and your fellow humans will still want to treat you like you belong to them.

It is an unfixable problem. Most of us will always be slaves in one sense or another. I don't think there will ever be a time when human beings aren't basically slaves unless they come up with some way to turn the human race into a zombie collective that isn't in any way aware of it's own circumstances. And even then, humans would still be slaves. They just wouldn't know it.

I love the people who go on about:

Working 25 hours a day 8 days a week (ok I exagerate), never haveing holiday with all they have to show for it is a peptic ulcer a borken family and barely scraping by. And some how they are proud of that and view anything else as lazy and commie


Sorry but the saying is a "work Smarter not harder" .

If your working insane hours and never haveing holidays and have little to show for it then your doing something wrong, that or your overlords (IE CEO of your Company) is stealing your hard earned cash!

As for me?

Well last year I just said F it and went self employed.

Originally posted by Phage
Yeah. Serfs had a great life. Plenty to eat. Great health care. Great working conditions.
I wish I was a serf.

edit on 9/2/2013 by Phage because: (no reason given)

Indeed... I think those part timers living the good life enjoyed it for a whopping 30-40 years, on the outside, didn't they?

I seem to recall mortality rates being a real hard downside.

Originally posted by benrl


And there you go, Yet again our representatives voting against our own interest.

I didn't know that our representatives ever voted in our own interests. I was under the impression it was a hierarchy, like when you become a Senator you have earned the right to vote in your own interest.

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by LifeIsEnergy

 

Actually, I think what I said (in a sarcastic manner) was, "I'm glad I'm not a serf." The idea being that I appreciate the life I have. My nation and culture contribute to it of course, as did my education.

The OP seems to think that serfs had a wonderful life because they got 215 days off a year. I don't think they were paid for it though and I don't think they had it very good on a lot of levels.

edit on 9/2/2013 by Phage because: (no reason given)

seems like we have found common ground on an issue, imagine that. that being "we have gone no where" in several thousand years. we still live in a debt based society that is and has always been class activated. at least the chinese say it out loud, we just sit around wondering who it was giving us charity in the behind.

reply to post by benrl


You totally miss the point...

The reason they were able to take 150 days off per year had nothing to do with whether or not some government agency mandated it.

The reason is simple... they were able to earn enough in the other 150+ days per year to *afford* them the ability to take that much time off...

In general, they worked during spring/summer (when they could), and earned enough during that time to take care of their needs when they couldn't work (fall/winter)...

Back in the 50's, a man could earn enough to take excellent care of his family, wife wouldn't have to work and could stay home with the kids, and the man got some vacation time too (maybe not 50% of the year though)...

We are slaves because we have allowed the powers that be to steal the purchasing power of our dollar to the point it buys only 5-10% of what it did back then.

reply to post by benrl

I had a stroke at 40, it did have a definite effect on my view of things.
I agree most American's are blissfully / busily unaware of most everything going on around them, like terrified little beasts of burden....

To me there is good captlism and bad captlism.

Good Capitlism is were you work hard and see the results of your labour and have the oppotunity to improve onesself through hard/smart work.

Bad capitlism is were you work hard and dont see anything. Instead some rich CEO gets all the fruits of your labour and he gets a 7 figure salalery and bonous while he spends half his time on a golf course and you get to be overworked , have little holiday and to barely make ends meet and at the end of the day if you are lucky (and you CEO hasnt gambled your pension away for a better yacht) you get a meagre pension or most likley a heart attack/ Stroke from overwork.


Guess which one most here live under?

Guess which one most people complain about?


Most people dont want soclisim or communism most of us want that first one!

Originally posted by crazyewok
To me there is good captlism and bad captlism.

Good Capitlism is were you work hard and see the results of your labour and have the oppotunity to improve onesself through hard/smart work.

Bad capitlism is were you work hard and dont see anything. Instead some rich CEO gets all the fruits of your labour and he gets a 7 figure salalery and bonous while he spends half his time on a golf course and you get to be overworked , have little holiday and to barely make ends meet and at the end of the day if you are lucky (and you CEO hasnt gambled your pension away for a better yacht) you get a meagre pension or most likley a heart attack/ Stroke from overwork.


Guess which one most here live under?

Guess which one most people complain about?


Most people dont want soclisim or communism most of us want that first one!

edit on 3-9-2013 by crazyewok because: (no reason given)

Honestly, I wouldn't mind a socialist system on Staple goods (heaven forbid right?) food, education, electricity, shelter.

Free Market capitalism on everything else, luxury goods, vices, etc.

Water at some point is going to be an issue, and do we really want that in the hands of corporations who will sell it to us at a premium?

Think gasoline but now you need it to live.

Originally posted by MyHappyDogShiner
reply to post by benrl

 

I had a stroke at 40, it did have a definite effect on my view of things.
I agree most American's are blissfully / busily unaware of most everything going on around them, like terrified little beasts of burden....

I faced death once, nothing thats around now seems unattainable, whats the worst that can happen? I die? been there done that, got the shirt.

It let me step back and reorganize my life, Sold the new cars, got reliable older ones, Moved the hell out of So CA, bought a home that was 1/4 the price of my old one.

Made me live simply and communally, allowed me the time to see how messed up the system we labor under is.

reply to post by benrl


If it was an "either/or" scenario...sure.

But as it stands, I want to keep more of my money, and have more people work.

I have always thought that welfare should be "workfare". Like FDR did it. You want to work for the workfare program, there are tons of things needing done. Every city in the US has a problem with the dog and cat population. Not enough folks to run the "humane society" (which typically is anything but humane).

Wal Mart bags litter the landscape.

Elderly spend each and every meal being fed by an aide that is feeding 3 or 4 people at a time (instead of sitting and conversing with an individual, 1 on 1).

There is plenty to be done. And lots of money being given away. I am willing to bet that something can be done to make those two things overlap. THAT is a social program I am interested in. THAT is something I am willing to give my tax dollars to.

ETA: i bet if every person was expected to be productive, we would find our current quality of life could be met with around 200 days of work each year.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by benrl

 

If it was an "either/or" scenario...sure.

But as it stands, I want to keep more of my money, and have more people work.

I have always thought that welfare should be "workfare". Like FDR did it. You want to work for the workfare program, there are tons of things needing done. Every city in the US has a problem with the dog and cat population. Not enough folks to run the "humane society" (which typically is anything but humane).

Wal Mart bags litter the landscape.

Elderly spend each and every meal being fed by an aide that is feeding 3 or 4 people at a time (instead of sitting and conversing with an individual, 1 on 1).

There is plenty to be done. And lots of money being given away. I am willing to bet that something can be done to make those two things overlap. THAT is a social program I am interested in. THAT is something I am willing to give my tax dollars to.

In an ideal world right?

The fed would be abolished, the US would print its own currency with out accruing interest on each dollar it spends, debt owed to the fed canceled, etc.

Could abolish the income tax, allow corporate taxes to run the government, require all fed and local govs to run at a budget surplus...

You know common sense, so crazy talk.

reply to post by benrl


You better watch it with such backwards, knuckle dragging ideas as individual liberty. They'll deport you from Oregon over it.

I think it really comes down to age... In my age group, 40, my peers are all established, doing well, have plenty of time off and live life the way they want.. Sure some weeks you work longer then others and I don't see a problem with any of that. In my core group of friends none of us would change what we are doing and lucky enough doing those things if financially viable.

My sisters generation, she is 28 , and those in between are pretty much hosed. They work 50-60 hours a week to make roughly $30-40k a year with limited available vacation time. I worry about that age group and those that come after. They have no options and it's a scary thought ..