I'm a UAW kid. For that reason I'm sure it isn't coincidental that Mike Rowe, host of the television show Dirty Jobs, has always been a source of constant fascination for me. In case you're unfamiliar with the show, each episode of Dirty Jobs documents Mike Rowe spending one day doing some socially integral job that we, despite having reaped the efforts of the workers, have probably never ever considered. It's fascinating if you have any interest in learning how exterminators kill rats or how old mattresses are disposed of, but there's probably sufficient entertainment value to be found in watching Rowe inseminate sheep or fall in pig shit even if you couldn't care less about the industrial foundations that make "civilized life possible for the rest of us," in the words of the show's introduction. It depends on your entertainment goals I suppose.

After reading the first few chapters of Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class, I definitely was reminded of Mike Rowe, but I started thinking less about what he taught me about how the Golden Gate Bridge gets painted and more about his opinions regarding societal attitudes about industrial work. I think that Mr Rowe, having spent thousands of hours actually performing over 250 different jobs, is in a fairly unique position to comment.

In this video, which is about twenty minutes long, Rowe tells some funny stories and cracks some jokes but also hones in on what he calls America's "war on work." The video is great but if you don't want to spend your time watching it there's a link over on the right side of the screen to expand a pop-out transcript.

Rowe's "war on work" reminds me eerily of Veblen's "tabu on labor." Rowe and Veblen each have radically different hypotheses explaining its origin and Rowe's "solution" seems ham-fisted and of dubious efficacy, but I still think it's interesting how two individuals expressing their opinions over one hundred years apart seem to independently (well, I would presume independently) come to the same conclusion. It's enough to make a union boy weep. No wonder Ford hired him to sell pickup trucks.

-- AndrewCascini - 05 Apr 2010

Andrew - interesting comparison. For some reason, your post reminded me of an article I read recently in the New York Times which made me consider the status of Veblen's "tabu on labor" today. For those who don't have a chance to read the article, it is a description of a new Do-It-Yourself "Market" at the Grand Hyatt. The idea behind the market is that people prefer to be able to have the food that they want when they want it as opposed to having to wait for room service.

It will be interesting to see if it catches on. Room service is one of those things that enables one to do as little work as possible. Not only does the purchaser not need to cook, he doesn't even need to get out of bed. It is a symbol of leisure. It also allows for conspicuous consumption, as the evidence of expensive room service often lingers in the hallway for a few hours after it has been finished, where the neighbors can see it. At the same time, it can be inconvenient - as the article mentions, it is often slow.

Having to go downstairs to a "do-it-yourself" market represents labor. Granted, the Grand Hyatt seems to think people prefer a little bit of labor in exchange for timely service, but it will be interesting to see if this idea catches on and if the people who order room service will be willing to "work" for their food, and be seen working for their food. In other words, does this demonstrate a chipping away at the "tabu on labor"?

-- DavidGoldin - 07 Apr 2010