Hmmh. I’m not sure if capitalism is of any help here. Rich people have maids and nannys. And old people. For example my neighbour is super old and she has someone help her with the chores. But usually -I think- we’re raised to expect a life without those kinds of (human) servants. I mean it’s mostly expensive because human labour doesn’t scale that way. Everyone need to pay an individual 4h of minimum wage a week plus another time that amount in social security and other charges (or hire an illicit worker). Whereas on the flipside, washing machines are pumped out en masse and that does scale economically. They’re absurdly cheap for what they do, and will pay off after they helped you avoid 3-4 medieval washing days. And it’s not even backbreaking labour any more.
What I meant was, I don’t think “pay a human intelligence to do those things [laundry, dishes] for you” scales well for me. Or the the average person. We regularly don’t make 10x of what a housemaid costs, so we do that job ourselves. Plus, maids aren’t really part of our culture anymore.
What works exceptionally well, though, is machines. I think both my washing machine and my dishwasher do all categories on the Performance–Cost–Convenience. It all comes out clean, they’re absurdly cheap for the labour I don’t have to do. And it’s convenient.
Right… My original comment you responded to was pointing in that direction, which is why it’s confusing. It sounds like you’re debating against yourself 😅
Hmmh. I’m not sure if capitalism is of any help here. Rich people have maids and nannys. And old people. For example my neighbour is super old and she has someone help her with the chores. But usually -I think- we’re raised to expect a life without those kinds of (human) servants. I mean it’s mostly expensive because human labour doesn’t scale that way. Everyone need to pay an individual 4h of minimum wage a week plus another time that amount in social security and other charges (or hire an illicit worker). Whereas on the flipside, washing machines are pumped out en masse and that does scale economically. They’re absurdly cheap for what they do, and will pay off after they helped you avoid 3-4 medieval washing days. And it’s not even backbreaking labour any more.
Sorry, I’m not really sure what you’re saying, considering your comment I was responding to. Can you rephrase?
What I meant was, I don’t think “pay a human intelligence to do those things [laundry, dishes] for you” scales well for me. Or the the average person. We regularly don’t make 10x of what a housemaid costs, so we do that job ourselves. Plus, maids aren’t really part of our culture anymore.
What works exceptionally well, though, is machines. I think both my washing machine and my dishwasher do all categories on the Performance–Cost–Convenience. It all comes out clean, they’re absurdly cheap for the labour I don’t have to do. And it’s convenient.
Right… My original comment you responded to was pointing in that direction, which is why it’s confusing. It sounds like you’re debating against yourself 😅
Thx. Yeah, I can’t remember what I was thinking 2 weeks ago. Somehow I felt like expanding on my point 😅. I’ll stop now. Have a nice one.
Cheers, you too!