The bullshit behind "evolving" into a service economy
In school, I've been taught that modern industrialized nations have "evolved" into service economies.
I never liked this description - although I never knew why.
Recently, I listened to prof. Richard Wolff - where he made a passing statement that service jobs cannot be moved abroad.
Suddenly, it seemed so obvious: the reason we've "evolved" into a service economy is because those jobs can't be exported. Manufacturing jobs have disappeared - and all that's left are the service jobs.
But, it has happened due to necessity - and not some other b*llshit reasons. If they could, employers would move those jobs abroad as well. They've managed to do so with call centers and other service jobs you can do remotely - but they can't export waiters and fast food workers.
At least not yet.
Although, they are definitely trying:
Progress made
First video!
I've finally sat my ass down and edit the first conversation I've had with Max Mozes. Note that there are some audio issues - caused by me - that makes Max have some echo. Also - my camera made me yellow.
You do - you learn.
We discuss a range of topics, including democratic corporations, liquid democracy, universal basic income, the gold standard, Max's petition, artificial survival, artificial laws of physics and cryptocurrencies, and other topics.
Feel free to have a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQJiFqCyJd0
Why We Aren’t Free (Due to How Much We Must Work for our Health)
I've published a text that describes the logic of why I think we aren't free. This one took some effort - which is why I haven’t published in a while.
Here's the summarized logic:
To be free, we need to be capable - not only permitted. Permissions from the government (civil liberties) are important, but also vacuous without opportunities to exercise them.
To be capable, we need to be able to work as little as possible to be in good health. This is because we need both health and time to be capable, and need to compromise to get as much as possible of both.
The work required to produce what we need is distinct from the work we must do to acquire it. E.g., a baker can produce 8 loaves of bread per hour but only afford one loaf after 8 hours of work. Production time depends on physical reality and tells us how free we could be; acquisition time is based on economic arrangements and tells us how free we actually are.
Today, most people must work more than necessary for their health, making them less capable - and hence less free - than they could be. This argument is substantiated with estimates of the time required to produce vs acquire a living-income-worth of goods and services - with 2019 USA as a case study. The time required to produce a living income to the US population was estimated to be ~10 hours per week per working age person, and the acquisition time to be more for at least 88% of US workers.
Most people in the US are not as free as they could be because they have to work more than necessary for their health. The same holds true for other countries with similar level of productivity, living costs, and working arrangements.
Disclaimer: none of this is financial advice.
Vive la résistance!
Vive la liberté!
