> Seems to me there's a false dichotomy here. What if we were artisans *most*
> of the time -- with "artisan" being defined as some role that allows each
> person to engage in creative pursuits congenial to his/her talents.
> Wouldn't it then be worthwhile to spend part of our time in repetitive or
> otherwise disagreeable labor? Would I mind picking up garbage or working in
> a factory if I had to do, say, only 3-4 weeks a year? Probably not,
> especially if everyone else in society -- CEOs, surgeons, violinists --
> faced the same obligation.
Carl is making a point here that I agree with, but I would argue that we need to advocate a bigger breakdown of the division of labor. I wouldn't mine doing shitwork for several hours a week, if I could spend the rest of my time doing stuff I like (which would include work that benefits my community).
There are some things that definitely require lots of skill and training: surgeons for example. However, many other tasks should be rotated, so that folks learn new things and can change--this is kind of what Albert and Hahnel are getting at.
CEOs and lawyers? No need for them after the revolution, nor cops, judges, television celebrities, security guards, and so on.
<< Chuck0 >>
Infoshop.org -> http://www.infoshop.org/ Alternative Press Review -> http://www.altpr.org/ Practical Anarchy Online -> http://www.practicalanarchy.org/ Anarchy: AJODA -> http://www.anarchymag.org/ MutualAid.org -> http://www.mutualaid.org/ Factsheet 5 -> http://www.factsheet5.org/ AIM: AgentHelloKitty
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INTERNATIONALISM IN PRACTICE
An American soldier in a hospital explained how he was wounded: He said, "I was told that the way to tell a hostile Vietnamese from a friendly Vietnamese was to shout ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ If he shoots, he’s unfriendly. So I saw this dude and yelled ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ and he yelled back, ‘To hell with President Johnson!’ We were shaking hands when a truck hit us."
(from 1,001 Ways to Beat the Draft, by Tuli Kupferburg).