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Bezotcovschina wrote

Reply to comment by polpotisevil2 in Pro tip by ziq

Because, I think, the modern "better yourself" thing is a capital propaganda. No, you don't need to be under constant pressure of a need to learn new skills and know more things to be a better member of society and more productive worker. And shaming people into this (as probably does the original image) is heartless and gullible.

No one saying you shouldn't learn a thing or two that will make your daily life easier if you want to. But productivity shaming is the lie of capital.

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masque wrote (edited )

We can go a level deeper, though.

Obtaining "more knowledge" or "a new skill" is not really productivity, in the sense that neither endeavor directly produces anything. The most well-hidden capitalist propaganda here is the idea that these things only have value due to their possible use for production, and by extension that working on these things is "productive."

But if someone sees skills or knowledge as valuable in and of themselves, then it's possible to encourage others to pursue them without engaging in any capitalist productivity shaming.

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