Hustle, Grind and Sleep

Abstract

We work endlessly. Whether it be justified by love,money, or both, it seems clear that the popular imaginary and contemporary conditions of the industrialised West are arranged such that there is always more work to do. We are always working — on ourselves, on others (things, relationships, people), presuming to understand its value and utility, and presuming that it will always increase the common good. Albert Camus’ famous inversion — to regard Sisyphus as the prototype of a happy person, always assured of work, always with something to do — is a seemingly benign allegory for microcultures in which continuous work is a must, a mantra, a mania and a meme; microcultures in which leisure is luxury, and sleep is optional.