On Tue, 28 Jan 2003, Steven McGraw wrote:
>
> That your household chores and family duties have little to do with BJCs or
> the economy. Though there are significant points of intersections, they
> are mostly distinct spheres for the purposes of parecon as i understand.
I've railed against this arbitrary distinction before. I'll do it once more. The economy, as social scientists typically define it, is the ensemble of goods and services produced, distributed, and consumed in a society. According to this textbook definition, making cars in a factory, generating legal briefs, childcare, and fixing meals for a family are all essential components of the economy. To make an artificial distinction about social labor based on whether the work is traditionally wage labor/professional labor or family responsibilities is to accept existing capitalist notions of work. Taking care of a child is an activity that is part of the economy of our society. What fascinates me is how many people (even Marxists!) think it's not really "economic activity".
In fact, the survival of our "free-market economy" is contingent on the unpaid, necessary labor of virtually everyone in our society.
Miles