Are deliberately unemployed people a drain on society?

[© tweed]

so the underlying assumption behind most every post here is that the only way to 'contribute to society' is to take part in the production-and-consumption market economy.

if my friends and family like me and I make their lives happier, is that a contribution to society?  

there is also the problem of unpaid household labor, which is not directed towards commodity production but yet forms the backbone of every society, even the soulless USA.  see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Care_work