Bullshit Work is an Opportunity

Fulfilling, imaginative, and measurably impactful work is hard. It is nearly impossible for a single person to produce it consistently. It is not guaranteed to be created. There is no formula or set of guidelines, way to live, or belief system that leads to it. Some of the best work comes from necessity, others seemingly from lethargy.

Some bullshit work is more like distributing the tasks that a single person can no longer manage, because everyone is tired. I recall Graeber making a point about the number of hours worked per week, but even then. The expectation to dazzle reliably is a huge undertaking, and I certainly do not know of any way to do it without risking burn out every few years. And that's me speaking as a perfectionist, overachiever - who at the end of every day will still push myself harder than the day before, even when it hurts. I learned an unfortunate lesson that pain and passion doesn't always bear fruit - and in that I found destruction instead.

It's more about having humility towards every person that contributes to a 'bullshit' job, which the macroscopic view and big data tend to heavily ignore. People are not data points, and their lives have immeasurable value even when they have to drag through every day. We don't have a control society for comparison. That said, part of me agrees with you, but I think speculation is mostly useless aside from guiding your own personal direction.