Japan & the refusal of work

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

>Reading all the press lately about "parasite teens" - the Japanese 
>kids who live with their parents, scorn work, and spend $1,000 on 
>small-run designer t-shirts - I was wondering: is this some version 
>of the refusal of work so celebrated by autonomists? Is the long 
>slump the country has been experiencing more the result of a 
>breakdown of labor discipline than more conventional economic 
>mechanisms?
>
>Doug

Increasing unemployment & underemployment + inadequate wages + still 
steep housing costs (whether you rent or build) = "Why pay rents when 
I could live with my parents for free, have my mom cook & do the 
laundry, and spend what little I earn on smart clothes and travel 
abroad?"
-- 
Yoshie

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