--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who do not think that employment is…" description: "\"Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed.\" — Nassim Nicholas Taleb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_blind_those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-i_2280496.png" --- # Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery… ![“Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed.” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_blind_those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-i_2280496.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_blind_those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-i_2280496.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_blind_those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-i_2280496.png) > “Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed.” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests that seeing work as oppression is either ignorance or complicity, highlighting systemic issues in labor. **In simple terms:** Seeing work as slavery shows blindness or participation. Key Takeaway Question the system and seek autonomy. Themes labor systemic oppression awareness critical thinking Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - job search - union organizing - career change - political activism Key Concepts capitalism alienation power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Are you aware of how your job limits you? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective Blindness may be a coping mechanism, not always true. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Blind Employed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-employed-5320953/) [Employed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employed/) [Employment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employment/) [Employment Systemic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employment-systemic-5320954/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slavery Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery-blind-5320952/) [Systemic Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/systemic-slavery-5320951/) [Think Employment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-employment-4184174/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Would I love to go and get out of here and have a couple of months preparing, I don't know, anywhere in sunshine? Yes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-hayes/would-i-love-to-go-and-get-out-of-here-and-have-a-couple-of-months/) [Emma Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-hayes/) > [We tend to think that employment is employment, and we don't ask the question: is this rewarding employment? Research establishes pretty clearly that typical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-spence/we-tend-to-think-that-employment-is-employment-and-we-don-t-ask-the/) [Michael Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-spence/) > [(Whispered to a novice while standing in front of the convent library) Oh! I would have been sorry to have read all those books...If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/whispered-to-a-novice-while-standing-in-front-of-the-convent-library/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [I think we should all hope for a Russia that is successful, where its people are employed and the economy is growing and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-we-should-all-hope-for-a-russia-that-is-successful-where-its/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Though liberty is established by law, we must be vigilant, for liberty to enslave us is always present under that very liberty. Our Constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/though-liberty-is-established-by-law-we-must-be-vigilant-for-liberty/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The law increasing and organizing the military establishment of the United States has been nearly carried into effect, and the Army has been extensively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-buren/the-law-increasing-and-organizing-the-military-establishment-of-the/) [Martin Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-buren/) > [All forces are a deterrent to and would be employed in a general war. Most of our forces could be employed in a limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-gates-jr/all-forces-are-a-deterrent-to-and-would-be-employed-in-a-general-war/) [Thomas S. Gates Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-gates-jr/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Words should be employed as the means, not the end; language is the instrument, conviction is the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/words-should-be-employed-as-the-means-not-the-end-language-is-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Of Rhetoric various definitions have been given by different writers; who, however, seem not so much to have disagreed in their conceptions of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-rhetoric-various-definitions-have-been-given-by-different-writers/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Oh yeah, I'm still employed at Pixar and I love it here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-bird/oh-yeah-i-m-still-employed-at-pixar-and-i-love-it-here/) [Brad Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-bird/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Over the past 50 years Bob Hope employed 88 joke writers who supplied him with more than one million gags, and he still couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/over-the-past-50-years-bob-hope-employed-88-joke-writers-who-supplied/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. Then, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-nightmare-scenario-is-that-the-government-saves-citibank-once/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“One needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket in order to win. Does it mean that the work involved in the trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/one-needs-to-go-out-and-buy-a-lottery-ticket-in-order-to-win-does-it/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/individuals-should-think-about-the-worst-case-scenarios-and-plan-for/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“If you are looking for your misplaced wallet in your living room, in a trial and error mode, you exercise rationality by not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-are-looking-for-your-misplaced-wallet-in-your-living-room-in-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Most humans manage to squander their free time, as free time makes them dysfunctional, lazy, and unmotivated—the busier they get, the more active they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/most-humans-manage-to-squander-their-free-time-as-free-time-makes/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We learn the most from fools ... yet we pay them back with the worst ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-learn-the-most-from-fools-yet-we-pay-them-back-with-the-worst/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/loss-of-bone-density-and-degradation-of-the-health-of-the-bones-also/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-takes-a-huge-investment-in-introspection-to-learn-that-the-thirty/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Explore all 635 Nassim Nicholas Taleb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-is-systemic-slavery-are-either/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-is-systemic-slavery-are-either/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_blind_those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-i_2280496.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_blind_those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-i_2280496.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_blind_those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-i_2280496.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who do not think that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-is-systemic-slavery-are-either/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/those-who-do-not-think-that-employment-is-systemic-slavery-are-either/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```