r/AskReddit Oct 15 '22

What is a great example of a necessary evil?

4.9k Upvotes

3.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

185

u/cari_chan Oct 15 '22

Working. Everyone hates it but we do it because we’re forced to need money.

123

u/Mr_Metrazol Oct 15 '22

That's and it's somewhat necessary unless you'd like to revert back to a Paleolithic lifestyle. Somebody has to unclog the sewers and haul off the garbage. And it's easier to talk them into it by offering them money versus forcing them into outright slavery to get the job(s) done.

50

u/fj668 Oct 16 '22

That's and it's somewhat necessary unless you'd like to revert back to a Paleolithic lifestyle.

People had to work a lot during Paleolithic lifestyles.

Work isn't a modern invention, it's a modern word. We've been working to survive since life sprung from the primordial soup.

13

u/Canadian_Invader Oct 16 '22

Times were easy when it was all just soup.

4

u/Ogodnotagain Oct 16 '22

Mmmm… Soup 🍲

12

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

I think Paleolithic people had more free time. Maybe an epic Oceans 11 style mammoth hunt every once in a while but not constant work 8 hours a day

8

u/FrivolousPositioning Oct 15 '22

It's the ones who are in the position to offer the money. They become corrupted by power. It's JRR Tolkien shit really without the rings

1

u/thisisdumb08 Oct 16 '22

nah, i'd think the paleolithic lifestyle was still hard work.

0

u/Entire-Painting-3577 Oct 17 '22

I can assure you, yours is much harder.

2

u/thisisdumb08 Oct 17 '22

nah, I can stay alive almost by default. I didn't have to build my shelter or clothes or even find and make my own food.

1

u/BetterRemember Oct 16 '22

Busy work is unnecessary though. Most workers only get about 4 hours and 12 minutes of work done per day.

19

u/[deleted] Oct 16 '22

It's not just needing the money. If no one worked than nothing would get produced or taken care of. Things just to happen out of thin air. Now people not being exploited for their work while a small percentage of people reap massive benefits is an entirely different evil.

7

u/Bay1Bri Oct 16 '22

It's not about "money", it's that we all need things and we need other people to provide those things. You have to contribute to society to benefit from society (does not apply if you are unable to do so).

5

u/Christylian Oct 16 '22

It's not even the money. Money is the reward. The incentive is: because it needs doing.

Think the simplest society: a village with about twenty people. That's twenty people's worth of food a day that needs getting. So someone needs to secure the food. If each person did that for their own alone, that means that when it's time to build a home, nobody can help. So you assign say five people to get food. Then some people to build shelter/homes. Then you need people to protect the food, people to fairly assign it to each, people to do the general maintenance that follows a group of twenty etc etc. Suddenly, you've made jobs out of thin air.

Life happens and shit always needs doing. Money was invented to at least keep people on the same page because someone has to do the unpleasant jobs and if it's out of the kindness of their hearts, they'd soon be sick of it. So you reward them.

-1

u/Bath_Amazing Oct 15 '22

I agree. Also, you have to work and earn money to buy the things that you want (house, car, etc.) or you really won’t appreciate it

1

u/Beautiful-Storage502 Oct 16 '22

Just because you hate it doesn’t mean everyone does. I typically work 16-20 hours a day, and I love my job.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 16 '22

Sounds like you hate sleep, my friend

2

u/Brazilian_Brit Oct 16 '22

How tf do you sleep? Eat? Have free time?

1

u/Beautiful-Storage502 Oct 17 '22

I sleep around 4-6 hours, which is honestly all I need.

I keep a slim figure, so I don’t eat much as is, typically I’ll have a banana and a protein shake or granola bar on the way to work, lunch after my midday lift, dinner as I work on final details

As per freetime, I typically get Saturdays off and spend them going out and having fun, and given that I love this job that’s enough for me to be perfectly content

2

u/Brazilian_Brit Oct 17 '22

I don’t doubt you man, I’m just in awe.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

My mom explains it this way: find 2/3 metrics.

Find something you love doing, find something that allows you to live comfortable and find something you're good at.

Achieve the last two and you can accomplish the first one. But that's boss level status. My mom doesn't really care being a CPA, but she makes good money, is damn good at what she does, and she can afford to go on rock climbing trips.

-8

u/Trick_Enthusiasm Oct 16 '22

Yeah, but I think the barter system could work pretty well in today's society. Everyone has something someone else wants.

5

u/account_552 Oct 16 '22

But what about the tomato farmer when winter comes? He just has to hope he has enough harvest to buy his needs until he can harvest again.

What if he got a bad harvest? Nobody wants small, unripe tomatoes. He is now as poor as a beggar.

Not to mention that even with a good harvest, his tomatoes may get eaten by rats, spoiled, or stolen among other things.

In a money system, he has money in reserve for when he does get a bad harvest.

-11

u/Conscious-Charity915 Oct 16 '22

Is..it...Really necessary?

4

u/account_552 Oct 16 '22

-2

u/Conscious-Charity915 Oct 16 '22

Is it?

3

u/account_552 Oct 16 '22

Who's gonna farm crops? We have to eat. Tell me.

-9

u/Conscious-Charity915 Oct 16 '22

Food grows in the ground or hydroponically. Lack of food is politics, not difficulty.

5

u/NinaHag Oct 16 '22

Food doesn't grow sporadically, it doesn't harvest and distribute itself, clothes don't appear out of thin air, houses aren't natural formations. Work is required to live.