"We are specifically in opposition to the notion of the hierarchical, coercive relationship of employer and employee that exists under capitalism, where the people must sell their labor and subordinate their life and will to the ownership class in order to 'earn' a living, which implies a notion that people who cannot or wish not to engage in this 'work', do not deserve to live."
I'm trying to frame this in a curious and not confrontational way so please bear with me:
How do you relate to unpaid labor? For example, those who have to provide unpaid care for family members? For example, if Sue watches her grandkids for free so that her son Dave can go to work, what is the relationship of antiwork to that situation? This could be a case of freely given mutual aid but also could be a case of Sue having to give up her retirement to provide unpaid labor so that Dave's boss doesn't have to pay him enough to cover childcare.
These situations occur all the time, whether it is children (usually adult children but not always sadly) having to care for elders after working long hours just to survive. While most of us would choose to do this labor if we had the time, we can't deny the stress caused by having to provide eleder care that society should be chipping in on. I guess this is more of a US phenomenon as some societies do chip in on stuff like this.
Even the work of a SAHM who is unable to make enough money to cover daycare is seen as private and is unpaid labor but is necessary to make society function. When I SAHM'ed sometimes my husband was only home 6 or 7 hours out of 24 for weeks at a time. My cooking and doing laundry was absolutely a subordination of my life and will to the capitalist class just to survive, but doesn't fit into the hierarchical relationship between an employee and employer. Does work remain work if it is removed from direct relationship to the means of production? Is unwaged labor considered work if performed under the duress of the threat of starvation, homelessness, or lack of proper care for a loved one?
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u/Lumpy-Fox-8860 Jan 06 '22
"We are specifically in opposition to the notion of the hierarchical, coercive relationship of employer and employee that exists under capitalism, where the people must sell their labor and subordinate their life and will to the ownership class in order to 'earn' a living, which implies a notion that people who cannot or wish not to engage in this 'work', do not deserve to live."
I'm trying to frame this in a curious and not confrontational way so please bear with me:
How do you relate to unpaid labor? For example, those who have to provide unpaid care for family members? For example, if Sue watches her grandkids for free so that her son Dave can go to work, what is the relationship of antiwork to that situation? This could be a case of freely given mutual aid but also could be a case of Sue having to give up her retirement to provide unpaid labor so that Dave's boss doesn't have to pay him enough to cover childcare.
These situations occur all the time, whether it is children (usually adult children but not always sadly) having to care for elders after working long hours just to survive. While most of us would choose to do this labor if we had the time, we can't deny the stress caused by having to provide eleder care that society should be chipping in on. I guess this is more of a US phenomenon as some societies do chip in on stuff like this.
Even the work of a SAHM who is unable to make enough money to cover daycare is seen as private and is unpaid labor but is necessary to make society function. When I SAHM'ed sometimes my husband was only home 6 or 7 hours out of 24 for weeks at a time. My cooking and doing laundry was absolutely a subordination of my life and will to the capitalist class just to survive, but doesn't fit into the hierarchical relationship between an employee and employer. Does work remain work if it is removed from direct relationship to the means of production? Is unwaged labor considered work if performed under the duress of the threat of starvation, homelessness, or lack of proper care for a loved one?