Lately I’ve been reading quite a bit about “quiet quitting,” the latest fad among those of the rising generation who are Woke, college-educated and have jobs. Late-stage capitalism is a cruel taskmaster, it seems. Why should the educated and credentialed young, with all their wisdom and potential, be forced to sweat for the sake of their daily bread? Yes, I know, it’s doubtful that people working from home in their bathrobes or sitting at their desks in air-conditioned offices perspire all that much— but still it’s just not fair!
Fortunately, though, there’s a remedy: When at work, do as little as possible without getting canned. Display no energy; demonstrate no initiative; add no value. That’s quiet quitting, otherwise known as being a slacker. But the Woke slacker can take comfort from the fact that his subpar work ethic is not a vice but a virtue. Quiet quitters are practicing self-care and mindfulness. They’re setting a good example for fellow employees who, because they work too hard, may not be living a fully human life. And of course, they’re helping to smash capitalism.
Now comes the news that our absurd president will cancel a big, budget-busting chunk of student loan debt—and it must be admitted that the Biden Administration knows its target audience. This announcement has been greeted by Woke slackers as a blow for justice to rival the Emancipation Proclamation. In a series of finger-wagging lectures, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow Squaddies have led the charge, asserting that America has a “moral obligation” to cancel student loan debt.
So AOC & Co. get their degrees, colleges and universities get the money and American taxpayers, many of whom have either paid off their student loans or never went to college at all, get stuck with the bill. This is the reverse of a moral obligation—it’s a moral atrocity. Young people who already are or can expect to earn six-figure incomes will be sucking the blood of other people who earn a whole lot less.
Let it be clearly stipulated that not all young people are as despicable as the Woke slackers who want Big Daddy in the White House to let them off the hook for the money they borrowed. Anyone who judges by the group is a mental midget. But let it also be noted that Millennials & etc. are acquiring such a bad reputation because a subset of them are greedy and selfish and lazy. Behind the facade of designer pronouns, mindfulness, “antiracist” sloganeering and sustainable socialism lurks the conviction that the world owes them a living. And like flies battening on roadkill, they’ll flock to anyone who promises to shower them with the goodies they desire.
The Biden Administration, whose lack of competence goes pari passu with its bottomless cynicism, hopes that by cancelling some student loan debt it can stave off disaster in the coming midterm elections—an example of “social justice” as customer service, one of postmodern progressivism’s distinctive characteristics. In short, Joe Biden thinks that he’s buying a bunch of votes. He may be disappointed, though: What makes him think that the quiet quitters of Wokedom will pay him back?