R: Sell Out

On Friday evening, we will meet to debate Resolved: Sell Out. In the time preceding and following graduation from Yale, an Eli must make decisions concerning his or her employment. If we so choose, we can even dignify this job search with the language of “discernment” and “vocation.” For most people, the good life is built on the foundation of some kind of financial security. With this in mind, should you love your job? Or can a sellout live a good life?

Many who would treat a job as anything less than an end are derided as sellouts by their peers, but this need not be the case. Selling out does not consist of doing evil or immoral work, it is simply doing work that one does not particularly value for its own sake. Those living in the twenty-first century often fail to acknowledge that the good life is built on sacrifice. Perhaps one must take a job he or she does not enjoy in order to settle into fulfilling work. But should that even be the goal? Leisure seems to be neglected by people who “live to work.” Can a life be considered well lived without leisure? And does leisure come easier to those who take a more sober approach to their employment?

Yet, it is undeniable that the choices we make shape us. One might intend to sell out for just a few years, but then continue doing so to secure a better result in the long term. The end gets lost in pursuit of the means. To avoid this trap, it is worth recognizing that terms like “discernment” and “vocation” are necessary, not naive. It is compromise that leads us away from the good life. Accordingly, it may be wrongheaded to pursue any job or career that requires one to do work that is not valued for its own sake. In the process of discerning one’s vocation, he or she may take a bad job, but the right call here is to leave it as soon as possible in search of greener pastures. If we are our brother’s keeper, do we not have an obligation to put our gifts to the service of others and reject the spirit of “work to live?” Why should we settle for anything less than a career that is valued for its own sake?

This debate concerns leisure, obligation, our disposition towards work, and, above all else, vocation.