Guard Labor is much more inclusive. It includes supervisors at the workplace, prison guards ....
On Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 06:14:48PM -0800, Jim Devine wrote: > how does the cost of paying for guard labor differ from the orthodox > concept of transaction cost? > > On Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 5:52 PM, michael perelman > <[email protected]> wrote: > > My article on Guard Labor is in the new issue of Dollars and Sense. ?It is > > extracted from my forthcoming book, The Invisible Handcuffs. > > > > http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2010/0110toc.html > > > > The article begins: > > > > Guards are everywhere in a capitalist economy. A few are dressed up in > > uniforms, so they are easy to spot. But most do not look like guards at all. > > Some sit in comfortable offices; others work on assembly lines in factories. > > James O?Connor, a prolific sociologist from UC Santa Cruz, describes one > > familiar set of guards whom we do not usually think of as guards: > > > > Consider the labor of the ticket seller at a movie house. The seller?s task > > is merely to transfer the right to sit in the theater to the movie-goer in > > exchange for the price of a ticket. But it may not be immediately obvious > > that it is not the lack of a ticket that keeps you out of the theater ... > > The ticket is actually torn up and discarded by a husky young man who stands > > between the box office and the seat that I want. > > > > These guards are a central feature of capitalism. Capitalists depend upon > > guard labor to protect their commodities, including the goods and premises > > they own, but especially the labor-power in their employ. Capitalism?s > > reliance on guard labor deforms the entire productive process, not only > > wasting labor, but also snuffing out badly needed creativity. > > > > -- > > Michael Perelman > > Economics Department > > California State University > > Chico, CA > > 95929 > > > > 530 898 5321 > > fax 530 898 5901 > > http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com > > _______________________________________________ > > pen-l mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > > > > > > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
