今天我想谈谈工作。我想提出并回答的问题是：“我们为什么要工作？” 为什么我们每天早上都要挣扎着起床，而不是像参加TED演讲那样，把生活过得充实而精彩？
你们或许也在问自己这个问题。当然，我知道我们都要谋生，但在座各位，恐怕没人会认为这就是“我们为什么要工作”这个问题的答案。对在座各位来说，我们所做的工作充满挑战、引人入胜、令人振奋、意义非凡。如果我们足够幸运，它甚至可能非常重要。
所以，如果没有报酬，我们就不会工作，但这并非我们工作的目的。总的来说，我认为我们认为物质回报并不是我们工作的理由。当我们说某人“为了钱而工作”时，我们不仅仅是在描述他。
现在，我认为这完全是显而易见的，但正是这种显而易见性引出了一个对我而言极其深刻的问题。既然如此显而易见，为什么地球上绝大多数人的工作却不具备任何激励我们每天早上起床去上班的特质？我们怎么能允许地球上的大多数人从事单调乏味、毫无意义且令人麻木的工作？为什么随着资本主义的发展，它创造了一种生产商品和服务的方式，在这种方式中，所有可能从工作中获得的非物质满足感都被消除了？从事这类工作的工人，无论是在工厂、呼叫中心还是物流仓库，都是为了报酬而工作。除了报酬之外，他们工作显然没有其他任何理由。
所以问题是，“为什么？”答案是：科技。我知道，我知道——是啊，是啊，是啊，科技、自动化害人，等等等等——但我说的不是这个。我说的不是那种已经渗透到我们生活的科技，也不是人们来TED演讲想听的那种科技。我说的也不是物之科技，尽管它意义深远。我说的是另一种科技。我说的是思想的科技。我称之为“思想科技”——我这名字起得真妙。
除了创造事物，科学也创造思想。科学创造理解的方式。在社会科学领域，这些被创造出来的理解方式，正是我们理解自身的方式。它们对我们的思维方式、我们的抱负以及我们的行为方式都产生了巨大的影响。
如果你认为贫穷是上帝的旨意，你会祈祷；如果你认为贫穷是自身能力不足造成的，你会陷入绝望；如果你认为贫穷是压迫和统治的结果，你会奋起反抗。你对贫穷的回应是逆来顺受还是奋起革命，取决于你如何理解贫穷的根源。这就是思想在塑造我们人类的过程中所扮演的角色，也正因如此，思想技术或许是科学赋予我们的最深刻、最重要的技术。
思想技术有一种特殊之处，使其与物的技术截然不同。对于物而言，如果技术糟糕，它就会消失，对吧？糟糕的技术会消失。但对于思想——关于人类的错误观念，如果人们相信它们是真的，它们就不会消失。因为如果人们相信它们是真的，他们就会创造出与这些错误观念相符的生活方式和制度。
工业革命就是这样催生了工厂制度，在这个制度下，除了最终的工资之外，你一天的工作实际上没有任何其他收获。因为工业革命的奠基人之一——亚当·斯密——坚信人类天性懒惰，除非你让他们觉得工作有利可图，否则他们什么都不会做。而让他们觉得有利可图的方法就是激励，就是给予奖励。这被认为是人们做事的唯一理由。于是，我们建立了一个与这种对人性的错误认知相符的工厂制度。但是，一旦这种生产制度建立起来，人们就别无选择，只能按照亚当·斯密的设想行事。所以，这个工作的例子仅仅说明了错误的观念是如何创造出一种最终使其成真的环境的。
“你再也找不到好帮手了”这种说法并不成立。真正的问题是，当你让人们从事那些有辱人格、毫无灵魂的工作时，你才“再也找不到好帮手了”。有趣的是，亚当·斯密——这位发明了大规模生产和劳动分工的伟大人物——也明白这一点。他曾说过，在流水线上工作的人“通常会变得愚蠢到极点”。请注意这里的“变得”一词。“他通常会变得愚蠢到极点”。无论亚当·斯密是否出于本意，他想告诉我们的是，人们工作的制度本身就造就了适应该制度需求的人，并剥夺了人们从工作中获得我们习以为常的满足感的机会。
科学——尤其是自然科学——的奇妙之处在于，我们可以构建关于宇宙的奇幻理论，并完全确信宇宙对我们的理论毫不在意。无论我们对宇宙抱有怎样的理论，它都依然会按着同样的方式运行。但我们确实需要关注我们关于人性的理论，因为我们那些旨在解释和帮助我们理解人类的理论，会改变人性本身。
著名人类学家克利福德·格尔茨多年前曾说过，人类是“未完成的动物”。他的意思是，人类的本性很大程度上是其所处社会环境的产物。也就是说，我们的人性与其说是被发现的，不如说是被塑造的。我们通过设计人们生活和工作的制度来塑造人性。
所以，你们这些人——我这辈子大概是离宇宙主宰者最近的一次了——你们回到各自的组织管理岗位时，应该扪心自问：你们究竟想帮助塑造怎样的人性？
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4 PAST RESPONSES
"Workers who do this kind of work,
[Hide Full Comment]whether they do it in factories, in call centers,or in fulfillment
warehouses, do it for pay. There is certainly no other earthly reason to
do what they do except for pay." How ironic that the author holds such an opinion. He demonstrates Geertz's claim that it is human nature to have a human nature that is a product of one's society. Even though he is criticizing the ideas of Adam Smith, he unconsciously holds the same biases, despite the supposed openness of scientific inquiry. I do repetitive assembly work (and not just for pay) of the kind he characterizes as "monotonous, meaningless and soul-deadening", yet can find the very same in my socially less valued work as he characterizes for the "masters of the universe": "For folks in this
room, the work we do is challenging, it's engaging, it's stimulating,
it's meaningful. And if we're lucky, it might even be important." To explore such a different state of mind may be our deepest challenge.
When Angie and I first got married, I was still a teacher. It was June, and I had the summer off, so Allie, MaryBeth and I had a few months to learn about each other and settle into the rhythm of our new life together. In my usual fashion, I began with lots of theories about parenting, and zero actual experience.
One afternoon we were in the backyard when I heard a truck pull up out front. It was our oil delivery company.
The man driving was wearing overalls that were shiny from frequent contact with their product, and a beard as thick as a squirrel's tail. He nodded a hello to us as he dragged the big hose Into the yard and got to work pumping heating oil into the pipe at the rear of the house, about twenty feet from where we were playing.
Once the coupling was set and the oil was flowing he turned his attention to us.
"You're off from work today, huh?" He asked.
I explained I was a teacher and had the summer off.
"That's great," he said. "Do you like your job?"
I told him I did. It seemed natural, then, to ask if he liked HIS job, so I did.
He lit up like a Christmas tree. "I love my job," he said.
He spoke with such fervor and conviction I was thrown for a moment. He must have seen the thoughts behind my eyes, because he squinted at me and asked, "Don't you believe me?"
I told him I had no reason not to, but since I had no experience doing what he did, I wasn't sure what, exactly, he loved about his line of work.
He laughed. "Oh, you think my job is driving an oil truck, don't you!"
Now I was really confused! The overalls...the big hose pumping oil...the truck rumbling softly out front. What else was I supposed to think?
"It's not?" I asked.
"Nah. My job," he began to explain, and here his eyes sparkled even more, and his chest filled with pride and joy, "my job is feeding my kids and putting a roof over their heads. Same job as you got. In my life it looks like an oil truck. In yours it's a classroom. Best damn job in the world, ain't it?"
I nodded, watched him uncouple the hose, recoil it on the truck, and smile and wave as he drove away.
He delivered our oil that day, but more importantly, he delivered me into a new mind. I left teaching a year later and took a position in a non-profit office. After six years there, I left to launch a freelance writing career.
I've been able to do these things because of that man and what he revealed to me that day. I still have the same job. Same as you. Taking care of the people we love.
Some days I do it better than others. My co-worker is awesome to work with (and she's cute as hell).
Best damn job in the world.
Happy Thanksgiving.
God bless!
[Hide Full Comment]Jim Malone
https://m.facebook.com/stor...
Well done, it explains a lot! More people need to read this.
Stunning in its accuracy, leaneness of presentation, and importance for every human being on the planet -- I hope this is widely circulated and given the attention that it deserves.