Eubulides says,
"In general, workers do not attribute to their own labor the difference between what they produce and what they receive. The notions of exploitation and unpaid labor are even more removed from everyday life on the shop floor today than they were in Marx's time." [Michael Buroway, "Manufacturing Consent] And yet, in 34 years of teaching workers, in every venue from smoky union halls in Johnstown, Pa to classrooms at UMASS-Amherst, I have never taught Marx's notions of surplus labor time, based on the distinction between labor power and labor, and not have light bulbs go off in nearly every student's mind. Just as one went off in my head when I first read capital. Buroway is a sociologist and no doubt observed workers. Perhaps he should have been leading classes. A fundamental idea of Marx is that the capitalist system is one vast mechanism generating alienation, one in which appearance becomes reality in terms of our actions and thoughts. Perhaps Buroway's comment is an indictment of the labor movement itself. And a reminder of how daunting is the task of the working class, which is to abolish itself. I have heard Buroway speak and read some of his stuff. He dismissed the enduring relevance of Braverman's Labor and Monopoly Capital, which led me to think he won't be of much use to the working class in any efforts it makes to liberate itself. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
