There are more people out of work than jobs, anyone think this will get better?

[redqueen]

Can society move past capitalism and the idea of jobs?

We have so many people whose very identities are tightly fused with the tasks they perform for income. The inability to secure income leads to stress, poor health, depression and even suicide.

Has anyone here read The Abolition of Work? I'm sure some people have, and I expect to get a lot of 'bah, ridiculous!' type replies but we should really consider other societal options, I think. Unless of course we're all happy competing for survival instead of, I dunno... cooperating?

Edit to add a link for anyone who's curious: http://deoxy.org/endwork.htm

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. Excellent. The book "your money or your life" was an epiphany to me.

Americans answer the question "So, what are you?" with a job title. I think that's more than a little tragic.

[closeupready]

7. I met someone last night. Neither of us asked about occupation.

Interestingly, he was Hispanic. Had he been a white guy, "what do you do for living?" would have been question number 3 or 4, I'm certain.

[MuseRider]

2. Marked to read later.

Interesting from a brief scan.

We worked our fingers to the bone and saved every penny we could to allow ourselves to live kinda like what was described in the first few paragraphs. Still, it took 20 + years to get here and that was with a very good income. I can't see that happening these days. Most incomes will not even allow people to retire.

I want to say more but need to read first (a habit I sometimes forget to my later embarrassment).

I will read later after I do my non work work and maybe comment later. Hopefully this has not dropped into oblivion by then.

[KansDem]

3. We're "past capitalism." TARP moved us past it.

Capitalism is all about making money. If you do well, you get rich. If you don't do well, you fail.

If we had true capitalism, then the banks and Wall Street would have been permitted to go broke. Instead we have this "If you do well, you get rich; if you don't do well, you get rich" mentality with regard to plutocrats.

I don't know what system we have now, but it isn't capitalism...

[redqueen]

4. Fascism?

[KansDem]

5. Sounds about right...

- Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism -

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Dr. Lawrence Britt

http://www.fascismusa.com/

[Rex]

6. More like a well established plutocracy imo.

There will come a tipping point imo. There always is throughout history, despite what the naysayers will say. You cannot have extreme inequality forever.