Your value is not determined by your productivity.
In a capitalist world, it can be hard to remember this. But despite what you are pressured to think, your value as a person does not come through what material value you create for others.
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... it is valued by how hard it is to replace you.
All individuals are irreplaceable.
A nice sentiment, but not very helpful for navigating reality.
Long story short: You are valued by others based on how much value you create for others. Stated this way, it's a totally obvious conclusion that is possibly easy to forget.
And like another commenter already said, this is true regardless of your preferred economic world view and politics. It's a simple life lesson.
You can't replace a close friend with some random person. Individuals have value in them regardless of their ability to do labour, and they are not replaceable as individuals.
It's really sad how much buy-in there is to the dehumanization of people here.
Another interesting thought. "Dehumanization of people" sounds like the title of a dissertation, it has so much depth you could talk about.
My first thought is, "can you even dehumanize someone" because I've never recognized this feeling as having "the features of humanity denied to me" by someone and properly identified it.
Looking back I have for sure been dehumanized at work so many times I can't get close to counting them. And I don't think that anyone could go home to their parents house and have their mom be a totally different person without being confused at least.
It is only recently that I would consider my co-workers as not interchangeable. Lower paid high turn over positions you just don't get attached to people, or at least I don't. People come and go so fast, but there are some that I only worked with for a few weeks that I remember to this day. Never considered that value before.
I know how much I'm valued as someone with a chronic illness which is to say, virtually not at all. In different times, even somewhat recent times, there are those who would simply prefer that I and others in similar circumstance be killed for our lack of utility.
There are other life lessons one can learn which are by far more valuable here.
This perspective sounds like relationships are a transactional affair of reciprocy. I am very sorry if this has been your experience with people ☹️
Speak for yourself. Normalization of the lie that everyone is selfish and self centered is what's ruining everything for everybody. A few sociopaths up the economic ladder have every incentive to make people believe this. Otherwise, the rat race is over.
It's not even really that. Paris Hilton? As replaceable as the next individual human. Almost totally without any production or material value, yet loaded with worth. There are dozens of people like her. Or on a smaller scale, many mid-upper level managers are completely interchangeable and produce little to nothing, but are valued far more than someone working in a packing plant.
Worth and value have no correlation in our society. People who have money have it because they have money, not because they work harder or do more important things. Some people do have money and also work hard or do important things, sure, but it isn't correlated.