Work

It is difficult to pinpoint with linear exactitude where this shift began. One can argue that the housing crisis was the spark that unraveled a certain momentum that is manifesting itself in various forms across different economies. However, that would be too faithful to a notion of time as a linear flow, and would also reduce the understanding of this so-called crisis to a single trigger in a limited economic circumstance rather than the holistic entity it is with multiple ills raging simultaneously. As writing has its limitations, one cannot tackle all simultaneously; some linearity has to be imposed while at the same time an attempt is made to capture the integral singularity of the beast itself. It is for this reason work seems appropriate as a beginning. Work fulfills the role of capturing the singularity of the shift by virtue of its humanity first. It is not an alien concept that can only be glimpsed by a macro perspective like productivity or GDP for example. It is as tangible in the life of the individual as it is crucial in the study of economics. It is as much an individual’s “problem” as it is the system’s. It is the beginning and the end of a series of knots and complications that otherwise do not have a clear beginning or an end.