Workers Controlled By Capital
Lebowitz continues:
The logic of capital in the sphere of production—workers controlled by capital
19. Two central characteristics typically occur in the process of production that takes place under capitalist relations. First, the worker works under the direction, supervision, and control of the capitalist. The goals of the capitalist (i.e., the search for profits) determine the nature and purpose of production. Directions and orders in the production process come to workers from above. There is no market here. There is a vertical relation between the one who has power and the one who does not. It is a command system, the despotism of the capitalist workplace.
20. And why does the capitalist have this power over workers here? Because he purchased the right to dispose of their ability to perform labor. That was the property right he purchased. It was the property right that the worker sold and had to sell because it was the only option available if she was to survive.
This first characteristic deals with the heart of politics--the question of control. Although we may be asked for input, and we may form committees to help make decisions, workers do not have any real control over our workplace.
Once you've been hired, you're out of the market, like getting married. You may be just brave (or crazy) enough to quit your job for something else, but the same fundamental truth will be clear wherever you go. The free market system works on behalf of the CEO's and shareholders. Whatever freedom you or I have in that system is whatever their hopefully benevolent dictatorship allows.
This is one of two characteristics of the free market that Americans are particularly innoculated against contemplating--it's fundamentally, as Lebowitz writes, despotic, and the market itself is anarchic, driven by the forces that drive capital, namely profits. While nobody's ultimately in control, the capitalist has what freedom and control there is over most of the hours of our day.
And that leads to another concept in the second paragraph. While most of us engaged in this dialogue have side jobs, we know it's a constant struggle to give those side jobs (usually our passions, our vocations, the ship we're building to someplace better) the attention they deserve. Why? Because making good use of his or her dollar, our despotic rulers pay us for what they think is our full productive capacity in a 24 hour period. And I've had plenty of jobs (including the one I'm currently in) where they were really close to having that formula about right. I haven't written on this blog in a week for a couple of reasons--
First, I have written, a little, in response to some feedback on our first couple of posts. You may want to check those out. That led me to think we may be moving forward too quickly.
Second, I'm spent by the end of each day. I go to workout and spend a little time with my family, and I'm done in. I suppose most people working something like 9 to 5 feel that way. Thankfully, the early reformers of the late 19th century helped get our days down to some reasonable amount, but the capitalist still has us right where we need to be to maximize our productive capacity.
Of course this is further complicated by the fact that the overall jobless rate in this country (if we include both genders, part-time workers, people on disability and folks in prison) is at about 25%. What I know about part-time workers, for instance, is that they all tend to have more than one part-time job (for the first 5 years after I got my MA, I had 5 jobs). And even full time workers are often married (as I am) to overtime pay. We've all but lost the gains we once had when at least a 10th of our workforce was somewhat organized. Our workplaces have led the way to our acceptance of a fascist state. For at least 8 hours a day, what does living in a free country mean? How do we make up for it in the 8 when we aren't sleeping?
Other implications I'm missing?
Other thoughts?
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As a casual observer of politics, I have been fascinated, and a bit perplexed, by the idea of “power.” Politics, many people say, is all about power. This statement begs for the question, what is power? From the many people I’ve asked, I have yet to receive a fulfilling answer, just glossy looks that scream, “That’s a silly question.” At the very base, I would assume, power is control—to get others to do what you want them to do. Underneath this desire for control lays the fundamental quest of every human: survival. The duality nature of man holds us captive, individually, to the idea that we are the center of the universe. Who can blame anyone for this idea? We live one life and are commissioned to get the most out of it, right? Selfishness and self-centeredness is the forbidden apple very few can resist plucking. My control is acceptance and compliance to rules laid down by a fortunate few. These rules are very hard to escape—school, job, house, family, dept. Capitalism, consumerism, and consumption breed an insatiable desire to climb the socio-economic ladder. The desire, a perceived and inherited need, to climb this ladder brainwashes the herd to prostitute themselves as a commodity, forsaking their pride, in the name of pride, and, in the process, sacrificing their individuality, their most sacred property right, for the sake of another’s design. Outside and inside forces perpetuate the status quo. I have just begun to notice the lack of empathy the middle class has for, go figure, the middle class. I find it very troubling that middle class members blame the middle class for the economic downturn by pointing the finger at those who took out predatory loans. When I mention Unions, my Political Science classmates look at me, through Middle America eyes, with disgust. I don’t get it. Labor union is a subject I need to learn more about; I was hard pressed to answer their hostility.
ReplyDeleteDebt, not dept.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments, David! I would only add that the herd doesn't have much choice. Of course, I get in arguments with my fellow teachers about our own manner of prostitution. We're all selling ourselves, to one degree or another.
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