24/7 (promiscuous labour)

Tom Walker timework at vcn.bc.ca
Mon Aug 6 06:55:35 PDT 2001


Ian Murray mused,


>Wonder what Marx
>would've made of speed limits to info production per unit of time?

He might have muttered something about absolute and relative surplus value and the physiological and class struggle limits to the production thereof. Then he might have gone on to suggest some sort of resolution about the limitation of the working day being a preliminary condition for emancipation.

The 24/7 motif is a subjective experience. People may be working ten hours a day and doing five hours worth of work. They may be getting paid for zero, two, five, ten or a hundred thousand hours. I think a good term for this would be promiscuous labour -- an orgy of working. And whaddaya know, whaddaya know, the Greek orgia meaning secret rites is akin to ergon meaning work. (Does this have anything to do with union-busting "rite to work" legislation?)

You work your fingers to the bone and what do you get?

BONEY FINGERS!

Tom Walker Bowen Island, BC 604 947 2213



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