2012-08-17T12:32:55Ztag:sursumcorda.salemsattic.com,2018:/isso/thread/post/in-print-againtag:sursumcorda.salemsattic.com,2018:/isso/948/35582012-08-17T12:32:55ZSursumCorda<p>Interesting point. Neighborliness = free ousourcing. So what makes that positive, and paid outsourcing negative? I'm guessing two main things:</p> <p>(1) There's a limit to how much most of us are willing to impose on our family, friends, and neighbors, which tends to restrain our impositions to times of true need. But there's a natural tendency to figure that as long as we're paying, we can use the service as much as we want. Organizations, also, know that there is only so much they can ask of volunteers, which is why, sadly, they prefer paid employees, who can be pushed around.</p> <p>(2) There's a perception, sometimes true and sometimes false, that what is done by a professional is better than what is done by an amateur. This feeds on itself in a negative spiral. I have a friend -- an excellent cook -- whose husband and children preferred to eat at restaurants, because there they each could order what he wanted instead of having to eat the family meal. The more people in a neighborhood who hire professional gardeners, the more pressure is put on those whose loving efforts are not up to professional standards. I'd put our children's homemade (largely by themselves) birthday parties up against the best professionally planned event when it comes to real fun, but when all your children's friends have carnival equipment and clowns for their birthdays, it's hard not to feel the pressure.</p>tag:sursumcorda.salemsattic.com,2018:/isso/948/35572012-08-17T04:47:52ZStephan<p>Nice letter! Hochschild's quote, all on its own, is not a description of the world as I see it, but maybe it's her compressed description that sums up a chapter of exposition, who knows. Reading the article, I marveled at her examples (people really do that?!?) and found myself a little surprised that she proposes piecemeal solutions to an apparently broad, sweeping problem. Wouldn't it make more sense to think about how to reinvigorate community instead of trying to personalize how we outsource our lives?</p> <p>Then again: isn't a greater reliance on community just a form of free outsourcing?</p>