[lbo-talk] Servant culture

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

> Actually, since many leftists find the system of property and contract
law
> that constitutes contemporary capitalism largely but not exhaustively
> determinative of class/exploitative relations, they have called for
the
> transformation of said laws. Of course, that too is considered mere
> moralizing ressentiment by libertarians, liberals etc.
> 
> 
> Ian
> 

That would mean paying decent wages and treating service workers with
dignity, rather than abolishing service work altogether, no?  Denouncing
that work because it furthers decadent life styles is moralizing. 

PS. When I was in Mexico City I noticed that my left, pro-union friends
employ a housekeeper, and elderly native woman to do their laundry and
wash their dishes.  When I expressed reservations, they replied that
they: (1) give employment to someone who would otherwise be unemployable
(2) by spending their money on that person's wages rather than on a
dishwasher or laundry machinery they support the local economy rather
than US manufacturers, and (3) they treat their housekeeper no different
that other workers.  

Rationalization? Perhaps.  But its logic makes more sense than Ms.
Ehrenreich's liberal guilt trip.  

PS. PS. I love eating out.  Does that make me a waiter-exploiting
capitalist swine?  What if I leave generous tips (as I usually do)?

Wojtek