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scotty79today at 10:25 AM1 replyview on HN

Really?

Referring to someone as the "consumer" is talking about the part of their life where they exert their economic power to fulfill their and their dependents needs and desires.

When you say "worker" you are talking about the time when they sell their life away and suspend their freedoms to get resources to stay alive. So basically when they are at their lowest. It should feel way more offensive to you and the fact it doesn't says a lot about how the culture was shaped to benefit who it benefits.


Replies

titanomachytoday at 4:11 PM

I also wouldn't reduce a human to a "worker".

Perhaps your relationship with the world is that you reluctantly labour so that you have money which you can exchange for the things that you want. Many people relate to the world this way, but not all of them.

The most joyful moments of my life are things like hiking with friends, or good conversation, or spending time with family, not purchasing commercial goods. And conversely, my work often gives me opportunities to help people, which I find fulfilling. If I didn't need the money (and I don't, probably) then I would still spend at least some of my time doing something work-like.

The economic lens is only one (incomplete) way of viewing human activity. Don't get so attached to that lens that you diminish your view of yourself, and your own potential.