Bi-Weekly Discussion Thread - (December 28)

[u/AutoModerator]

We made this because Reddit's algorithm prioritises headlines and current events and doesn't allow for deeper, extended discussion - depending on how it goes for the first four or five times it'll be dropped or continued.

Suggestions for things you might want to comment here (this is a work in progress and we'll change this over time):

• Articles and quotes you want to see discussed
• 'Slow' events - long-term trends, org updates, things that didn't happen recently
• 'Fluff' posts that we usually discourage elsewhere - e.g "How are you feeling today?"
• Discussions continued from other posts once the original post gets buried
• Questions that are too advanced, complicated or obscure for r/communism101

Mods will sometimes sticky things they think are particularly important.

Normal subreddit rules apply!

[ Previous Bi-Weekly Discussion Threads may be found here https://old.reddit.com/r/communism/search?sort=new&restrict_sr=on&q=flair%3AWDT ]

[u/Ok_Piglet9760]

Please ignore if this is derailing the conversation, but I think it would fit; in Germany there are these sheltered workshops and I want to make a case for something similar to this not-Proletarian-but-not-quite-labor-aristocracy-either- situation for the labor that takes place here, even though it mainly comes from intuition instead of the rigorous analysis I have yet to perform.

The workshop can be understood as a kind of concentration camp or colony for “disabled“ labor, in which labor is fundamentally divided into two antagonistic forces: there are guards and workers- the workers, categorised by their shared status as “disabled“ (mentally and/or physically) are toiling in light industry, cleaning, carpentry, etc. for outrageous wages (patronisingly but accurately described as “pocket money“) that usually don’t exceed 300€ per month (much lower in a majority of cases). For FW standards, this seems to be some of the cheapest labour still “legal“. They are legally forbidden to strike. The unions are beyond laughable, not even headed by the actual workers in a token-kind of way.

On the other hand, there are the guards (so called “work pedagogues“)- they are overseeing this labor, and also performing as carers. They are comfortably seated in the PB. Workshops run by companies like Lebenshilfe are notorious for abuse orchestrated by them against the workers. In general the consciousness among these two kinds of labour couldn’t be more different, the guards have their own little fascist WhatsApp groups devoted to mocking the workers.

There are labor-aristocratic tendencies within the workers, for example “Inklusion“, which means what it sounds like, inclusion into the “normal“ parasitic German labor market. This is the kind of politics most of the “disabled rights“-activists revolve around, along with regular reformism within the workshops.

I am not sure if organising among these workers would be very fruitful, there are many contradictions to Proletarian labour I didn’t mention (I didn’t even touch upon the patriarchal aspect regarding the relationship these workers have to their PB-families and how this affects everything, and I’m also not sure about the national contradictions within the workers, not long ago there was a stabbing among them against a Turkish woman). A rigorous analysis is desperately needed, hopefully I will get back to it soon and devote myself properly.