The Dignity of Labour: Honouring Work, Reclaiming Value
This article was originally published on Linkedin, by VALR’s CMO, Ben Caselin.
Whether it's on X or in leisurely social settings, more and more, I've noticed that as crypto prices rise a kind of hubris emerges with it that ridicules the nine-to-five as a form of mindless slavery. In seemingly innocent ways, work is reduced to a hamster wheel of futility in the form of memes and posts that mock the daily grind.
This cynicism is not only immature but profoundly disrespectful to the generations who toiled to build the world we inhabit. From our parents’ quiet sacrifices to the countless hands that shaped our cities, roads, and institutions, work is in fact the backbone of human progress.
In this essay, I argue that work, when approached as a form of service, is actually a noble act of worship that honours life, and that the disillusionment fuelling such ridicule stems not from work but from a broken monetary system—fiat currency eroded by inflation and mismanagement. By embracing sound money like Bitcoin and gold, we can restore justice to the rewards of labour, ensuring that effort endures in value as it does in spirit.
The Nobility of Work as Service
Work is not merely a means to an end; it is a profound expression of human purpose. My parents, like many, rose each morning to provide for our family, their steady effort a testament to love and duty. Their labour was not a mindless sprint on a wheel but a deliberate act of service—to us, to their community, and to a greater good. This aligns with the principle, articulated in many spiritual traditions, that work performed in the spirit of service is akin to worship. The Bahá’í writings, for instance, elevate work to a sacred act:
“It is made incumbent on every one of you to engage in some occupation… and to consider it as a means of nearness to God.”
This perspective reframes labour as a bridge between the material and the spiritual, where effort becomes a way to honour the life bestowed upon us.
Worship, in its deepest sense, is not confined to rituals or prayer; it is the act of aligning one’s actions with purpose and gratitude. The philosopher Simone Weil spoke of attention as the purest form of prayer, suggesting that to focus fully on a task—whether crafting a table or balancing accounts—is to engage in a sacred act. When we work with intention, we cultivate our talents, heed our calling, and contribute to a world that thrives on mutual effort. This is not drudgery but a noble pursuit. To dismiss work as meaningless is to overlook its role in shaping character and society, a perspective that betrays both ignorance and ingratitude for those who laboured before us.
The Disillusionment with Fiat Money
In my view, the cynicism surrounding work masks a deeper discontent—not with labour itself but with a system that undermines its rewards. For decades, workers have poured their energy into earning wages, only to see their savings eroded by inflation, a silent tax imposed by fiat currencies like the pound or dollar. Fiat money, untethered from any fixed standard, is subject to debasement through arbitrary money printing and reckless fiscal policies.
As economist John Maynard Keynes warned, “By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” This erosion of value feels like a betrayal of effort, fuelling the sentiment that work is a trap.
The roots of this disillusionment lie in systemic flaws. Central banks, in their attempts to stimulate economies, often print money to fund deficits or bailouts, diluting the purchasing power of every dollar earned. Add to this the age-old tendency toward warfare, which diverts resources and inflates costs, and the result is a currency that fails to reflect the justice and fairness labour deserves. The philosopher Karl Marx, while perhaps flawed in his prescriptions, astutely critiqued systems that alienate workers from the fruits of their labour. Today, that alienation manifests not in ownership of production but in the diminishing value of wages saved over time.
The Case for Sound Money: Bitcoin and Gold
If work is to be honoured, its rewards must endure. This brings us to the case for sound money—currencies like gold and Bitcoin, which resist arbitrary debasement. Gold, valued for millennia, is finite (at least on Earth) and cannot be conjured at will. Its stability has made it a store of value across cultures, from ancient empires to modern markets. Bitcoin, a digital counterpart, operates on a decentralised network with a fixed supply cap of 21 million coins, immune to centralised manipulation. As economist Saifedean Ammous argues in The Bitcoin Standard, “Bitcoin… enforces a monetary policy of predictable scarcity,” aligning with the principle that money should reflect the effort it represents.
Both gold and Bitcoin embody justice in their design. They are not subject to the whims of policymakers or the inflationary pressures of war and mismanagement. By preserving value, they ensure that a worker’s effort today retains its worth tomorrow, respecting the dignity of labour. This is not to say they are flawless—gold is cumbersome, Bitcoin volatile—but they offer a framework where the rewards of work are not eroded by forces beyond one’s control. To honour work is to demand a monetary system that upholds fairness, where the sweat of one’s brow is not diminished by the stroke of a central banker’s pen.
Reclaiming Work’s Purpose
The ridicule of work as a hamster wheel is a symptom of a deeper problem—a world where effort feels disconnected from reward. Yet, this is not a reason to scorn labour but rather to reform the systems that undermine it. By viewing work as an act of service and worship, we reconnect with its intrinsic value. The carpenter who builds a home, the teacher who shapes minds, the nurse who heals—these are not hamsters but architects of a better world. As the sociologist Max Weber noted, work ethic is a cornerstone of societal progress, binding individual effort to collective flourishing.
For me, reflecting on my parents’ sacrifices, for which I can never express enough gratitude and respect, I see work as a legacy of love and resilience. Their efforts, like those of countless others, built the schools, hospitals, and roads we take for granted today. To mock this is to dishonour not just them but the very foundation of our lives. Instead, we must celebrate the pursuit of usefulness—finding our calling, honing our skills, and contributing to a world that demands our best. And we must advocate for a monetary system that respects this effort, one where value endures as surely as the fruits of our labour.
Work is not a curse but a calling, a sacred act of service that binds us to each other and to the divine gift of life. The cynicism that paints it as futile stems from a broken system, where fiat money betrays the worker by eroding their rewards. By embracing sound money like Bitcoin and gold, we can restore justice to labour, ensuring that effort is met with lasting value. Let us reject the shallow ridicule of work and instead honour it as the noble pursuit it is—a testament to our parents, our predecessors, and the potential within us all to build a world that reflects our deepest values, ideals and highest aspirations.
Risk Disclosure
Trading or investing in crypto assets is risky and may result in the loss of capital as the value may fluctuate. VALR (Pty) Ltd is a licensed financial services provider (FSP #53308).
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.
