# Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber

20 Hacker News commenters recommended Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber and 12 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for framing jobs that add no real value, though critics say its economics is weak and it never names the jobs.

## Why people recommend it

- Names jobs that exist to keep busy (4 comments): "There's an argument that even under capitalism, a lot of jobs still only exist in order to keep people busy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47048771)) "where he makes an argument that 50% of American jobs are not only not-productive, but actually harmful" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48011246)) "This is what Graeber called "box-ticking" in Bullshit Jobs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47932876))
- Thesis seen as compelling and relevant (4 comments): "I agree with Graeber that we've gone beyond just alienation from the product of labor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45924420)) "the theory is not without flaws but it seems relevant to the topic and conversation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49210513)) "I thought he made a case for both societal and economic impact." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47057492))
- Widely recommended as reading on topic (4 comments): "Boards have finally started to appreciate his 2018 Book, Bullshit Jobs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174748)) "If you ever read David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs - and you should" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48624853)) "also see Graeber's Bullshit Jobs essay and book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47059511))
- Anthropological insight into work's value (2 comments): "how it's used in conversation and how Graeber actually wrote about the topic are basically two different things" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47057449)) "Anthropological insight has much more value than anything economists may produce on economy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47058820))

## What people warn about

- Thesis rejected by economists (2 comments): "The thesis of Bullshit Jobs is almost universally rejected by economists, FYI. There's not much of value to obtain from the book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056830)) "Graeber's work is empirically incorrect." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48167571))
- Weak premise and flawed social science (4 comments): "I also found his thesis compelling, but it's built on bad social science" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47117992)) "The premise was really thin and did't actually support the idea that the jobs don't generate value." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47057144)) "seems truthy but doesn't stand up to any critical evaluation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47057147))
- Fails to identify the jobs concretely (3 comments): "And that book sort of vaguely hints around at all these jobs that are surely bullshit but won’t identify them concretely." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47060735)) "that book sort of vaguely hints around at all these jobs that are surely bullshit but won't identify them concretely" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056706)) "fails to identify them concretely" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47067755))
- Dismisses workers as politically charged (3 comments): "I wouldn't take his word too seriously. According to him, corporate lawyers, administrative assistants and compliance officers shouldn't exist." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48331023)) "A lot if it reminds me too much of fascist arguments about how all of those city liberals don't do actual labor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48167491)) "I don't see how they aren't performing an important function." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47057577))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend
- [Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air by David MacKay](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sustainable-energy-without-the-hot-air.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501143336?tag=YOURTAG-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/YOURID/9781501143335) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber", https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).