I think the older I get and the more I see all of us being alienated from the fruits of our labors, the more I realize that there is/was value in the reproductive labor of food production, clothing production, etc. I don’t mean that we should all go back to being serfs (though, there are studies that show they worked less than we do), but I think that there’s something lost when most people don’t have anything of value they can point to and say “I made that” or “I had a hand in that.” Most people have bullshit jobs that have very little to do with human thriving/surviving and at the same time, don’t see more people doing science or art or poetry. IDK what the solution is, but it sure feels like we’ve been collectively sold a bill of goods in a lot of ways.
Those “they worked less” articles often twist and lose the truth. They worked less on the specific work for their masters maybe, but they had to because they had to work at home; everything and I mean everything took longer back then. They needed more time to prepare food and darn their socks and split firewood for the winter and whatnot. They couldn’t just run to the nearest store if they needed a loaf of bread. They had to actually make it. So yes, they “worked less” but they also worked a lot more doing their house chores just to survive.
Any functional spin laundry machine is saving more time than anything else in the house.
I remember helping my grandmother with the wring washer: the tub would swish only but not spin, so you had to pull out each item and run it through the wringer assembly above the tub, like a giant set of pasta rollers just waiting to eat your hand. Barely faster than beating them on rocks.
I still hang laundry on the line to dry when weather and clean air allow.
You’ll note that I actively disclaimed a desire to go back to serfdom. My broader point is about the alienation of labor and the sole focus on product rather than process.
Also if we’re talking serfs specifically they actually had to work the lands of their lord and didn’t get anything in return, all of it went to the lord. Then also they had to work to sustain themselves and their family. It’s like if they made you today to work 3 weeks for your boss, without pay, then you can work one week for pay to earn your living.
I think the older I get and the more I see all of us being alienated from the fruits of our labors, the more I realize that there is/was value in the reproductive labor of food production, clothing production, etc. I don’t mean that we should all go back to being serfs (though, there are studies that show they worked less than we do), but I think that there’s something lost when most people don’t have anything of value they can point to and say “I made that” or “I had a hand in that.” Most people have bullshit jobs that have very little to do with human thriving/surviving and at the same time, don’t see more people doing science or art or poetry. IDK what the solution is, but it sure feels like we’ve been collectively sold a bill of goods in a lot of ways.
Those “they worked less” articles often twist and lose the truth. They worked less on the specific work for their masters maybe, but they had to because they had to work at home; everything and I mean everything took longer back then. They needed more time to prepare food and darn their socks and split firewood for the winter and whatnot. They couldn’t just run to the nearest store if they needed a loaf of bread. They had to actually make it. So yes, they “worked less” but they also worked a lot more doing their house chores just to survive.
laundry was a total bitch too
Any functional spin laundry machine is saving more time than anything else in the house.
I remember helping my grandmother with the wring washer: the tub would swish only but not spin, so you had to pull out each item and run it through the wringer assembly above the tub, like a giant set of pasta rollers just waiting to eat your hand. Barely faster than beating them on rocks.
I still hang laundry on the line to dry when weather and clean air allow.
You’ll note that I actively disclaimed a desire to go back to serfdom. My broader point is about the alienation of labor and the sole focus on product rather than process.
Also if we’re talking serfs specifically they actually had to work the lands of their lord and didn’t get anything in return, all of it went to the lord. Then also they had to work to sustain themselves and their family. It’s like if they made you today to work 3 weeks for your boss, without pay, then you can work one week for pay to earn your living.
Work with hands good. Need place, purpose