Maybe, in the sense that the autonomists were in the vanguard of laziness (cue Paul Lafargue, the Right to be Lazy). The 'Japanese' trend is universal. In the US I think you call them slackers. In the UK they are the foundation of our music, fashion and video games business. We call them students.
Doug: 'Is the long slump the country has been experiencing more the result of a breakdown of labor discipline than more conventional economic mechanisms?'
Or maybe the slackdom is the result of a breakdown of labour discipline in the absence of conventional mechanisms. More broadly these trends express the evacuation of historical subjectivity, I argue in my new book, The Death of the Subject Explained. -- James Heartfield The 'Death of the Subject' Explained is available at GBP11.00, plus GBP1.00 p&p from Publications, audacity.org, 8 College Close, Hackney, London, E9 6ER. Make cheques payable to 'Audacity Ltd'