We are losing a way of distributing participation in society (everyone should have a meaningful role in their own judgement) and the distribution of income from that participation.
I wonder if this is the logical end result of late stage capitalism, that is, to atomize society into a consuming horde which has no internal loyalties or human bonds. We are being reduced to an economic throughput engine and nothing else. There needs to be a revolt against the system to upend the consumerization of human beings and the commoditization of labor.
Thank you for your note. I was thinking about the differences between a consumer, which is a hideous term on many levels, and a citizen. Corporations, through advertising, promote one concept at the expense of another. Citizens cooperate, seek common ground and engage in a rational political process. Consuming is obviously antithetical to that. There are no social bonds at all in a simple transaction. This is what I meant by 'consumerization', the erasure of the concept of citizen by corporate interests. Many employers, especially 'gig economy' promoters, think of labor as a commodity like electricity, as in human-service-hours, which can be drawn upon at will. When no longer needed, simply shut down the service. In any rational society human labor shouldn't be a commodity, simply because we are not machines. We have rights which include ourselves and others. Douglass is far more eloquent than I am, of course. I hope this clarifies the earlier post.
"The machine software ensemble can produce the things that people need but Increasingly does not pay them for that production."
I think this deserves qualification --- the "machine software ensemble" can *unsustainably* produce what our present, *way too big* / *unsustainable* global population level needs. But there's no where to go but biosphere+social collapse along this trajectory.
One way or the other, we need far fewer humans...
Also, it's worth asking ourselves what we believe about humans before agriculture (i.e., hunter-gatherer tribes), and whether or not those beliefs are founded or unfounded; truths or myths.
I wonder if this is the logical end result of late stage capitalism, that is, to atomize society into a consuming horde which has no internal loyalties or human bonds. We are being reduced to an economic throughput engine and nothing else. There needs to be a revolt against the system to upend the consumerization of human beings and the commoditization of labor.
What does "consumerization of human beings" mean? and what does "commodiztation of labor" mean?
Thank you for your note. I was thinking about the differences between a consumer, which is a hideous term on many levels, and a citizen. Corporations, through advertising, promote one concept at the expense of another. Citizens cooperate, seek common ground and engage in a rational political process. Consuming is obviously antithetical to that. There are no social bonds at all in a simple transaction. This is what I meant by 'consumerization', the erasure of the concept of citizen by corporate interests. Many employers, especially 'gig economy' promoters, think of labor as a commodity like electricity, as in human-service-hours, which can be drawn upon at will. When no longer needed, simply shut down the service. In any rational society human labor shouldn't be a commodity, simply because we are not machines. We have rights which include ourselves and others. Douglass is far more eloquent than I am, of course. I hope this clarifies the earlier post.
Got it, thank you very much for the clarifications. The “gig economy” is especially concerning… so dehumanizing in implementation…
I like sangha as a concept of community - a group that supports each other
"The machine software ensemble can produce the things that people need but Increasingly does not pay them for that production."
I think this deserves qualification --- the "machine software ensemble" can *unsustainably* produce what our present, *way too big* / *unsustainable* global population level needs. But there's no where to go but biosphere+social collapse along this trajectory.
One way or the other, we need far fewer humans...
Also, it's worth asking ourselves what we believe about humans before agriculture (i.e., hunter-gatherer tribes), and whether or not those beliefs are founded or unfounded; truths or myths.