Bullshit Jobs
Bullshit Jobs by David Graeberby David Graeber
Ranked 4 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended for framing jobs that add no real value, though critics say its economics is weak and it never names the jobs.
Recommended for framing jobs that add no real value, though critics say its economics is weak and it never names the jobs.
32 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- criticize it
- 12
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Names jobs that exist to keep busy
“There's an argument that even under capitalism, a lot of jobs still only exist in order to keep people busy.”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “I guess I kinda get why people hate AI” “where he makes an argument that 50% of American jobs are not only not-productive, but actually harmful”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “Why Almost Everyone Loses–Except a Few Sharks–On Prediction Markets” “This is what Graeber called "box-ticking" in Bullshit Jobs”
Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: Why Are Companies Tokenmaxxing?” - Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “How to Exist”
Thesis seen as compelling and relevant
“I agree with Graeber that we've gone beyond just alienation from the product of labor”
Comment from 14 Nov 2025 in “Why I'm Learning Sumerian” “the theory is not without flaws but it seems relevant to the topic and conversation”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “Why is Everyone in Tech so sad?” “I thought he made a case for both societal and economic impact.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” - Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “'Stunning' percolation proof solves decades-old puzzle about phase transitions”
Widely recommended as reading on topic
“Boards have finally started to appreciate his 2018 Book, Bullshit Jobs.”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Layoffs at Block” “If you ever read David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs - and you should”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Did my old job only exist because of fraud?” “also see Graeber's Bullshit Jobs essay and book”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” - Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “Why do we need human mathematicians anymore?”
Anthropological insight into work's value
“how it's used in conversation and how Graeber actually wrote about the topic are basically two different things”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” “Anthropological insight has much more value than anything economists may produce on economy.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Thesis rejected by economists
“The thesis of Bullshit Jobs is almost universally rejected by economists, FYI. There's not much of value to obtain from the book.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” “Graeber's work is empirically incorrect.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “We've made the world too complicated” Weak premise and flawed social science
“I also found his thesis compelling, but it's built on bad social science”
Comment from 23 Feb 2026 in “'Peanut butter' pay raises could cost companies their top performers” “The premise was really thin and did't actually support the idea that the jobs don't generate value.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” “seems truthy but doesn't stand up to any critical evaluation”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” - Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity”
Fails to identify the jobs concretely
“And that book sort of vaguely hints around at all these jobs that are surely bullshit but won’t identify them concretely.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” “that book sort of vaguely hints around at all these jobs that are surely bullshit but won't identify them concretely”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” “fails to identify them concretely”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity” Dismisses workers as politically charged
“I wouldn't take his word too seriously. According to him, corporate lawyers, administrative assistants and compliance officers shouldn't exist.”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “The Dead Economy Theory” “A lot if it reminds me too much of fascist arguments about how all of those city liberals don't do actual labor”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “We've made the world too complicated” “I don't see how they aren't performing an important function.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David GraeberThis page | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Enshittificationby Cory Doctorow | 19 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
32 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Check "Bullshit Jobs" by David Graeber.”
“Graeber seemed to think there are some vast class of jobs that can disappear in any given company”
“I've always had a problem with Graeber's definition of exactly what a”
“the book does address these points pretty well”
“the theory is not without flaws but it seems relevant to the topic and conversation”
“David Graeber goes into this a lot in "Bullshit Jobs".”
“If you ever read David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs - and you should”
“I wouldn't take his word too seriously. According to him, corporate lawyers, administrative assistants and compliance officers shouldn't exist.”
“Graeber's work is empirically incorrect.”
“A lot if it reminds me too much of fascist arguments about how all of those city liberals don't do actual labor”
“with way too many words still”
“where he makes an argument that 50% of American jobs are not only not-productive, but actually harmful”
“This is what Graeber called "box-ticking" in Bullshit Jobs”
“Which I think is much better take than that guy that wrote bullshit jobs.”
“Boards have finally started to appreciate his 2018 Book, Bullshit Jobs.”
“I also found his thesis compelling, but it's built on bad social science”
“fails to identify them concretely”
“And that book sort of vaguely hints around at all these jobs that are surely bullshit but won’t identify them concretely.”
“also see Graeber's Bullshit Jobs essay and book”
“Anthropological insight has much more value than anything economists may produce on economy.”
“I don't see how they aren't performing an important function.”
“I thought he made a case for both societal and economic impact.”
“how it's used in conversation and how Graeber actually wrote about the topic are basically two different things”
“Greaber is not the only one drawing conclusions from a hypothetical perfect world”
“seems truthy but doesn't stand up to any critical evaluation”
“The premise was really thin and did't actually support the idea that the jobs don't generate value.”
“theres a laundry list of issues with his research”
“The thesis of Bullshit Jobs is almost universally rejected by economists, FYI. There's not much of value to obtain from the book.”
“that book sort of vaguely hints around at all these jobs that are surely bullshit but won't identify them concretely”
“There's an argument that even under capitalism, a lot of jobs still only exist in order to keep people busy.”
“You will understand what it's all about.”
“I agree with Graeber that we've gone beyond just alienation from the product of labor”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.