The quote has been applied to describe the situation in rich countries.

On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 4:33 AM, Michael Meeropol <[email protected]> wrote:
> Is that quote from Joan Robinson out of context?
>
> From a previous post:
>
> "Right, like quoting Joan Robinson about not being exploited being worse
> than being exploited under capitalism."
>
> I have been in her presence when she said something like that -- Though my
> memory is a bit hazy and she did have an ironic smile on her face, she
> stated:
>
> "The only thing worse than being exploited is NOT being exploited."
>
> What she was referring to was the terrible situation that the extremely poor
> rural populations of third world countries experienced -- when they moved to
> the cities from subsistence agriculture and could not find work, they were
> MUCH WORSE OFF than those that moved to the cities and DID find work -- (and
> arguably than those who stayed in their rural areas and eked out a meager
> subsistence)
>
> General point -- No matter how badly exploited you are as a worker under
> capitalism, it is better than having no income at all.
>
> So I fail to see how that is out of context.
>
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