On 2012-01-06, at 5:27 PM, Wojtek S wrote:
> Oops, hit the send button too soon,
>
> RE your point 1. I think you are overestimating this shift. A lot of
> of that shift is a result of firms spinning off support services. For
> example, if a manufacturing firm farms out its accounting or
> janitorial services the accountants and janitors that used to be a
> part of the manufacturing sector now count as the service sector.
> Ursula Huws makes that point in her chapter in _Capital and its
> discontents_ . But more importantly, there is nothing about services
> that intrinsically disadvantages the worker. if it happens it has
> more to to do with power relations than with economics.
>
> RE your point 2. As a matter of fact, European workers are better
> insulated from market forces than American workers - just look at the
> amount of social welfare spending in OECD countries
> http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?datasetcode=SOCX_AGG. This
> translates to a lot of things that affect the quality of life of the
> working class - health care, unemployment, old age protection,
> transportation, education, housing etc. I am surprised that I have to
> even repeat this.
I'm surprised I have to keep repeating that the European working class is under as fierce an assault as the US working class, irrespective of their past history. No one disputes that for much of the 20th century the greater militancy and political consciousness of the European working class and the greater weakness of the European bourgeoisie compared to the powerful American capitalist class allowed the European trade unions to squeeze more concessions from their states and employers. That's no longer the case. But I accept that your views are quite settled in this matter.