Almost two weeks in a new position now. Learning to speak Swedish little by little. I am gratified by the warm welcome, the change of pace. I am feeling refreshed after the vacation and have found a good working groove.

During the vacation I had a good discussion with some friends, which I think has certain regarding the principle of respect which I have discussed before.

The discussion was about whether there was something morally dubious about outsourcing household chores such as cleaning. I was presented with an argument, which I am sure resonates with many people: everybody should be able to clean up their own homes if they are physically able. To have somebody else "cleaning your shit", so to speak, is to support the creation of a "maid society".

While I understand the sentiment where this kind of argumentation stems from (the so called "Lutherean work ethic"), I still find that when examined more closely, this kind of argumentation has very little rational basis. Indeed, such arguments may actually be interpreted from a strikingly different angle.

I would respond to such critique with a question: do you not respect the work of cleaners? Indeed, after Durkheim's notion "organic solidarity", that is, people having respect for each other because of the recognition of the mutual interdependency between different roles, it is clear that specialization is a fact in a modern society. I would argue that there is nothing morally dubious in specialization, doing what you are trained to do and doing it well.

Arguments such as "nobody should be cleaning up my shit" are actually implying disrespect for cleaning professionals, who serve in a crucial function. "Maid societies" and so on are born when such disrespect exists, not when people rely on the expertise of others in their daily lives.