solar utopia
I was thinking about what I said about paper plates. Honestly, I think we could be getting so much clean energy from the sun and we could just use paper plates all the time b/c the paper could be recycled, the water used in the process could be filtered, the power could come from solar panels, and people could work in the paper plate factory.
Okay, I know that sounds kind of horrible, but obviously, in this SOLAR-TOPIA, there would be no traffic, the factories would have windows and nice views . . . or, fuck it! why not just have robots make the damn plates and clean, etc. That is not even far fetched. If a machine can give a blow job, I bet one could be made that could scrub the tub. Technology could free us from drudgery. To some extent, it has. We have dish washers, we don't churn butter . . . etc. Is capitalism holding us back because it's more profitable to the billionaire class to keep us in this technologically retarded condition. Sure, we have cell phones, etc., but the basic mode of living in developed countries has stagnated during the last 75 years.
So, anyway... in the land of SOLAR-TOPIA, much of the worst work would be done by robots and the rest would be done in pleasant conditions, and full-time employment would be no more than 20 per week. Part-time would be 10. As I've mentioned, I'm fond of the novel Looking Backward. For now S-T is going to borrow his economic system, for the most part. One difference, though, is that, except for in hospitals and other homes for those who need care, there would be no professional service industry and no entertainment industry (which is basically a service, after all). No massage, no waiter/waitress, no actor/actress no prostitutes -- no one serving one another except out of need (caring for the sick, old, young, etc.) or love/unencumbered desire. In other words, the personal serving of each other would no longer be coerced by the need for money, resources, or any other material benefits. People would sing, cook for each other, and have sex for free, for the joy of it without the pollution of money & capitalism. Without perfect freedom, people are obligated to do things to survive, or are tempted to do things out of insecurity and greed, that will be harmful to their psychological well-being. In SOLAR-TOPIA, everyone would be free from this harm.
So, perhaps the difference between "labor" and "productive labor" is that producing material goods in a factory is rather like collective-craftsmenship . . . obviously, there are huge differences between factory work and carpentry or whatever, but there is dignity in making useful things. Working as a chef or a maid is historically related to aristocracy and their servants. Types of work have never been equal and workers will never have guaranteed rights because the nature of certain kinds of work is inherently abusive.
Okay, I know that sounds kind of horrible, but obviously, in this SOLAR-TOPIA, there would be no traffic, the factories would have windows and nice views . . . or, fuck it! why not just have robots make the damn plates and clean, etc. That is not even far fetched. If a machine can give a blow job, I bet one could be made that could scrub the tub. Technology could free us from drudgery. To some extent, it has. We have dish washers, we don't churn butter . . . etc. Is capitalism holding us back because it's more profitable to the billionaire class to keep us in this technologically retarded condition. Sure, we have cell phones, etc., but the basic mode of living in developed countries has stagnated during the last 75 years.
So, anyway... in the land of SOLAR-TOPIA, much of the worst work would be done by robots and the rest would be done in pleasant conditions, and full-time employment would be no more than 20 per week. Part-time would be 10. As I've mentioned, I'm fond of the novel Looking Backward. For now S-T is going to borrow his economic system, for the most part. One difference, though, is that, except for in hospitals and other homes for those who need care, there would be no professional service industry and no entertainment industry (which is basically a service, after all). No massage, no waiter/waitress, no actor/actress no prostitutes -- no one serving one another except out of need (caring for the sick, old, young, etc.) or love/unencumbered desire. In other words, the personal serving of each other would no longer be coerced by the need for money, resources, or any other material benefits. People would sing, cook for each other, and have sex for free, for the joy of it without the pollution of money & capitalism. Without perfect freedom, people are obligated to do things to survive, or are tempted to do things out of insecurity and greed, that will be harmful to their psychological well-being. In SOLAR-TOPIA, everyone would be free from this harm.
So, perhaps the difference between "labor" and "productive labor" is that producing material goods in a factory is rather like collective-craftsmenship . . . obviously, there are huge differences between factory work and carpentry or whatever, but there is dignity in making useful things. Working as a chef or a maid is historically related to aristocracy and their servants. Types of work have never been equal and workers will never have guaranteed rights because the nature of certain kinds of work is inherently abusive.