The Burnout Society

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Secular, 21st-century residents of wealthy countries don’t worry much about whether we’re God’s elect. But we’re still trapped in the Calvinist cage. We are anxious to demonstrate to potential employers, and to ourselves, that we are work saints. Like divine election, this type of status is an abstract condition that we cannot assign to ourselves, but one we hope others will recognize.

Q. You have described how work is becoming more like a game, and social media, paradoxically, makes us feel freer. Capitalism seduces us. Has the system managed to dominate us in a way that is actually pleasing to us?Now, if you’ll excuse me, I might just end there – you see, after all that philosophising, I’m suddenly feeling very, very tired …

Consequently, Roberto Esposito makes a false assumption the basis of his theory of immunitas when he declares:

The Burnout Society certainly isn’t my usual fare, but I enjoyed it immensely, and its core message is one we should all consider. Han dips nicely into others’ ideas too, giving us a taste of other views on the subject. As with much popular philosophy, it’s hard to shake off a nagging feeling that Han’s ideas are simply common sense explained clearly; not a bad thing, of course, but perhaps meaning that there’s nothing here as clever as you might think on a first reading. Of course, it may just be that in the time since the book’s publication, what were once profound insights have now become fairly self-explanatory truths.