The Price of a Knowledge Society. Drucker
This is a re-reading and transcription of Drucker. These are my personal notes.
This continues the series of encouragement for university students.
A world with losers and winners. It is said that this was not the case in the past, but is that really true? It is truly a waste to burn out. I feel from various places the question: is society moving in a better direction for people?
#49
<Quote> The fear of failure has permeated every corner of society.
Upward mobility in a knowledge society comes at a high price. It is the psychological pressure and mental stress that accompany competition. There are winners because there are losers. Society in the past was not like this. It is said that Japanese students are sleep-deprived due to attending cram schools. If they do not go to cram school, they cannot enter prestigious universities and cannot get good jobs. In America, the UK, and France, schools have also become places of terrifying competition.
The fact that such things have occurred within the short span of thirty or forty years shows that the fear of failure has permeated every corner of society. Moreover, after such competition, an increasing number of successful knowledge workers—that is, corporate managers, university faculty, museum executives, and doctors—end up burning out in their forties.
When that happens, problems arise if the only thing one can do is work. Therefore, knowledge workers must cultivate interests outside of their work.
"The Next Society"
💡 Professor Drucker's gentle explanation
"If winning the competition becomes the purpose of life, you will break down somewhere."—Drucker warns of this in this passage.
A knowledge society is a society where academic background, qualifications, and specialized knowledge determine one's "position in society." In the past, the family one was born into largely determined one's life, such as a farmer's child becoming a farmer or a craftsman's child becoming a craftsman. However, in the modern age, anyone can move to a higher stratum depending on their effort and knowledge. That in itself seems like a good thing.
But, to the extent that this "upward mobility" has become possible, "those who lose the competition" are also created. Cram schools, entrance exams, job hunting... as you have experienced, Japanese education has been a structure of "winning and losing" from an early stage.
The problem is what happens after that. People who have survived intense competition to become corporate managers or doctors end up "burning out" in their forties. Why? Because work has become their only identity. In terms of the Faculty of Letters, it is similar to a graduate student who is cornered by the thought that "I have nothing but my research," and who collapses the moment they can no longer write their thesis.
Drucker's prescription is clear."Cultivate interests outside of work."It could be a hobby, volunteering, or community activities. Even if work temporarily hits a dead end, if there is another place where "one can contribute," a person can recover. Having multiple places to belong becomes the foundation that supports a long professional life.
☘️ Q&A with university students
Q1. I haven't found what I want to do in the future yet. Do I have to do something right now?
A. There is no need to be impatient. However, it is important to find at least one thing you can be passionate about outside of work while you have the time. If you are studying literature, try organizing a book club, volunteering at a local library, or continuing small creative activities. It doesn't have to be directly connected to your future job. Borrowing Drucker's words, having multiple "places where you can contribute" becomes the foundation for a long professional life.
Q2. Should I start accumulating qualifications and skills now to gain an advantage in job hunting?
A. Honing your skills is not a bad thing. But if you focus only on "preparation to win exams," you will start walking down the path to the "burnout" that Drucker warned about earlier. Rather, what you can do now is practice expressing your own opinions firmly in seminars, be conscious of "your role within a team" in your part-time job, and broaden your horizons through travel and reading. These experiences will become "authentic words" you can speak in interviews, and above all, they will add depth to you as a human being before you start working.
Q3. What specifically should I do as a university student to cultivate the "interests outside of work" that Drucker mentions?
A. Anything is fine, but if I were to give one criterion, I especially recommend "activities where you spend time for the sake of others." For example, learning support volunteering, making booklets in a literary circle, or being a staff member for local events. The important thing is that there is a "sense of contributing even if it doesn't make money." That will make you think, when you hit a dead end in your future work—on nights when you can't write your thesis, or during periods when you aren't recognized at work—that "I have another place." That is the "other root" that Drucker says knowledge workers should possess.