IN THE BUBBLE JOHN THACKARA - witz cultural

perous regions make similar points: New-economy patterns of work lead to
ill health and early mortality. 38
Reality check three: New economy work leads to loneliness, disconnection,
and a loss of identity. We tend to be judged by what we do, not by
who we are—and that question is hard to answer when we’re working on
multiple projects and tasks—‘‘spots’’ that are not connected, do not have
a story, have no beginning, and no end. Spot markets for our labor fragment,
atomize, and disconnect us from narrative. Singularity replaces connection
and flow.
Convivial Work
Things look less bleak when you compare the time we spend unhappily doing
projects with many of the activities that contribute to a convivial society
that have never been packaged as jobs—meal preparation, shopping,
laundry and cleaning, child care. Household work is part of health care provisioning,
as the sociologist Ann Oakley has argued. Freshly cooked food,
proper clothes, a clean surface and home, a dust-free environment, and a
safe place where one can relax and sleep are essential necessities for healthy
people. 39 Roughly half of all the labor hours in industrialized countries are
spent on unpaid ‘‘nonmarket’’ work—so we’re talking about half the economy
in time terms. In terms of the value of nomarket production, estimates
range from 33 to 84 percent of GDP, depending on the value metric and
methodology used. 40 Many governments have begun to redefine development
to include all costs and benefits, not just those measured in money,
and to take factors like literacy, health, and environmental quality into
account. 41
Conviviality 125
Could we design some kind of online ‘‘farm-to-market’’ barter economy
for the time we can and want to spend on care? There are interesting hints
of what may indeed be a startling change. One of these is the growth of
local exchange and trading systems (LETS). A wide variety of individuals
and local businesses are discovering that it makes sense to receive payment
in local barter currencies, which get called things like ‘‘bobbins,’’ ‘‘acorns,’’
or ‘‘beaks.’’ What happens is that local people form a club to trade among
themselves, using their own system of accounts. They compile a membership
directory containing offers and requests—goods, services, or items for
hire; these are priced in local credits. Members use the directory to contact