Can anyone explain to me why all the candidates (on both sides) are so obsessed with preserving American manufacturing jobs? Even if that ship hadn’t sailed decades ago (there’s only so much one can do to reverse globalization and technological progress), factory work is dangerous and soul-crushing and has all kinds of environmental effects. I’m not saying I have a better solution here (except probably service sector growth is going to be key), but I can’t believe this is the thing we want to preserve.
Increased redistribution is obviously important. And that’s step one. But I don’t think it’s a complete solution - there’s always going to be a significant subset of the population who derive a lot of self-worth from supporting themselves and their families. But the fact that the economy is shifting drastically should be an opportunity to create ways to do that that don’t suck.
Workerist ideology is a thing. And it ain’t unfounded or completely deluded.
The thing is, manufacturing workers had, in the glory days of the labour movement, won certain (cultural, identity) etc things that most service industries’ workers had never conquered because of their relatively weaker bargaining positions and greater coordination difficulties.
People want dignity. People want pride. People want to feel like they have a position of power, that they are not easily crushed. The real solution would be for the service sector to advance, to become less associated with humiliation and disrespect, of course - but you really, really can’t blame people for the cultural nostalgia. Most everyone who’s been poor and humiliated can understand the allure.
Russia never had independent unions, but heavy manufacturing industry workers also had power, importance and the same kind of class pride here, a sense of social stability and respect that is the opposite of “class mobility” ideology. And it was a good deal for them. Something everyone ought to have.
The dignity of the working class is important. It makes for a stark difference in individual and community well-being. Most liberals and libertarians seemingly cannot understand this. Reactionary/nostalgic socialist idealization of the 20th century is not the answer, but it’s important to retake that ground - for everyone this time, not just the chosen (and white, male etc) labor aristocrat elite.
Right now, nobody really seems to alieve in the dignity of service work. That is a major fucking problem. It’s why Uber doesn’t even bother to inform customers that drivers are deactivated at 4,6. Service work is normalized as a position of utter powerlessness.
The service industry lacks dignity because people perceive their situations accurately. They’re pawns of a system they can’t win in, forced to alienate their labour in exchange for survival on others’ terms, their livelihoods subject to decisions far away by political powers and corporate towers. They have no alternative, no power to bargain with, and their chance to tell bad customers to fuck off is determined by the whims of their employers, many of whom are quite whimsical indeed.
Now if there only was something that could prove to these people, in pure material terms instead of political gestures we all know to be vacuous and filled with the same stuff as the silently despairing servicariat’s souls, that yes, you deserve to exist independent of the surplus value someone else can extract from you; that you are more than an inconveniently embodied and thus materially needy servitude to someone more lucky; that you may negotiate your own terms and genuinely reject work which you do not consent to; that it’s your inalienable birthright as a human being to be entitled to a livelihood.
In other news, what’s basically the finnish grey tribe caucus is publishing a draft proposal which basically summarizes as “We could totally afford to give people an unconditional $1000 a month, look upon our calculations ye mighty and despair!” while the Party Formerly Known As The Communist Party is pushing for something like $1200 (the details tend to be more vague but the spirit is the same).
Yes, this is so. And yes, basic income in even one country would be great…
…but I frankly don’t believe in it succeeding now. Seems way, way too good to be true. I don’t know why, but it just breaks disbelief.
I feel like someone at the top, at least someone invested in the current state of the service sector, is going to catch on that this spells outright social revolution, and do their best to crush it.
That’s what they said about the 8-hour day. That’s what they said about ending the war on drugs. That’s what they said about every substantial reform ever. Is it guaranteed to happen? Hell no. Is it reasonable that it nonetheless might have a decent chance at succeeding somewhere and catching on, given its inherent advantages and the current momentum it’s enjoying? Yes.
3 months ago · 55 notes · source: an-animal-imagined-by-poe · .permalink
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bookchins-revenge reblogged this from captain-melarki and added:I’m pretty sure it was Milton friedmans idea of a minimum income or negative income tax: dismantle social welfare...
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gattsuru reblogged this from an-animal-imagined-by-poe and added:For all that factory labor was boring, tiring, soul-crushing, and exhausting, it was a lot of work that was available to...
captain-melarki reblogged this from bookchins-revenge and added:Are there actually proposals that suggest ending other social safety nets and replacing them with UBI instead of just...
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socialjusticemunchkin reblogged this from multiheaded1793 and added:That’s what they said about the 8-hour day. That’s what they said about ending the war on drugs. That’s what they said...
multiheaded1793 reblogged this from socialjusticemunchkin and added:Yes, this is so. And yes, basic income in even one country would be great……but I frankly don’t believe in it succeeding...
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shnerk reblogged this from an-animal-imagined-by-poe and added:Additionally, there are whole communities (states, even) that credit their continued existence to the industries that...
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tartapplesauce reblogged this from multiheaded1793 and added:Exactly this. Anybody who’s worked in a service industry (retail, hotel work, etc.) will have the experience of it being...
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an-animal-imagined-by-poe reblogged this from multiheaded1793 and added:That makes sense. It seems like the only solution is a major cultural shift, and I don’t know how to make that happen,...
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