At 06:43 PM 1/8/1998 +1100, <<Rob> wrote: >G'day Penners, [snip] >It occurs to me that the 'self-employed' prostitute (and I recognise the >range of possible experiences for such people is enormous) is essentially >escaping the dominant mode of exploitation of our time. There is no >surplus value produced is there? No capitalist and no proletarian! Sure, >most alienations emanating from the commodity form (and, typically but not >necessarily, most effects of differential wealth-determined power >relations) prevail, but can we argue that we have in this prostitute a >model for least-possible-alienated-worker under capitalism? An >Adam-Smithian ideal type, perhaps? > >Theoretically at least, we have here the possibility of prostitution >presenting some with a career choice that is tenable/optimal from both >economically rationalist and politically socialist points of view. This begins to loop back to my original query. If the self-employed= prostitute (the "SEP") approaches the Adam-Smithian ideal, then it seems to= me that the self-employed pornographic Web site operator nails it on the= head. The self-employed prostitute, despite his or her autonomy, still= faces what should be unacceptable physical risks and (except for those= prostitutes specializing in Hollywood's A-list or New York's Social= Register) poor social standing. By contrast, a woman who runs her own Web= site featuring nude photos and videos of herself has the same or greater= autonomy as an SEP, faces little or no physical risk, and can if she= chooses be completely anonymous, which largely eliminates the social= standing problem. If she is successful at operating her Web site, she can= choose to no longer be anonymous (not that many site operators are anyway)= and be reasonably confident (at least in the U.S.) that admiration for= entrepreneurial skill will outweigh moral disapproval. The likelihood of a= positive reaction, incidentally, has been increased by the often dramatic= loosening of social mores that has taken over the last 20-30 years. I think that Rob's conclusion is accurate and increasingly less theoretical,= particularly from economically rationalist point of view. The politically= socialist/moralist point of view will take longer (typical for the U.S.),= but certainly is changing. Regards, Fred ----------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------------------------------ Frederick S. Lane III, Publisher, <italic>The Journal of Electronic Discovery & Internet Litigation </italic>A Publication of Pro Se Computing, Inc., 1 Main Street # 46, Winooski, VT 05404=20 Phone: 802/655-0605 Fax: 617/658-2014 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.pro-se-computing.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------------------------------
