In primitive times, when people were self-sufficient, all
they needed came from the land they inhabited.
They took from the land and as they used the resources they took they
gave back to the land what they did not use and their waste. No one will argue that it was a perfect
system where all the resources taken were returned to their original spot but
it was close. Now resources are taken
from the land, shipped to the factory then shipped again to where they are consumed
miles or even continents away and then the wastes are shipped to a land
fill. What was once resources rich land
becomes exhausted and what was once pristine becomes fouled by waste. So is the plight of modern humanity.
Before the age of capitalism, sometime in the 14 or 1500s,
humans were dependent on their skills and the skills of those around them for
everything from their clothes, food and homes to their safety, companionship
and entertainment. Each person was of
value to themselves and those around them.
Now we are only cogs on a wheel or resisters in a computer. We don’t rely on our neighbors and we
interact more with electronics than humans.
We are isolated and ultimately replaceable. We can change this. We must escape our
isolation and wasted, useless sense of self.
Value comes not just from the time spent to
produce. It also comes from the quality
of the materials, the expertise of the crafts man and the dearness to the heart
of the product to the consumer. Skill
may be the utmost of worth. If I can
produce a product of superior quality, in half the time it takes you to produce
a similar product them I will ask more for the fruit of my labor than you do
for yours. And over time what I can do
may increase in value or become valueless.
Capitalists need a surplus of labor to suppress
wages. If contraception and abortion
were; without stigma, freely available and affordable, the number of unwanted
and unsupportable children would decrease.
And so would the number of surplus workers that the Capitalists need to
suppress wages and benefits. The only
path the labor class has to gain the upper hand on the owner class is to reduce
the number of workers until laborers become a valued commodity, worth education
and keeping healthy. When laborers are a
valued commodity, educating and maintaining the health of the labor class will
become a priority for the owner class. So
long as there are more people then jobs there will be no change.
Capitalists want jobs to be so easy that education and a
living wage are unnecessary and they want workers so common that the loss of
many, can easily be replaced in short order.
As a result of these sentiments capitalists will never support a living
wage, education, healthcare and birth control.
If I can make a profit off of something that you destroy
(use up) on a regular schedule then my income is made secure.
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