F O U R

The Four-Hour Workday in a Four-Day Workweek…

Why four?

WHY NOT!

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Globalization killed it. Also the IWW was a shell of its former self after the red scare.

It's true globalization did a lot to set back radical demands, but I think the issues of automation and technological unemployment can reactivate them.

Indeed. However we need unions to go global before that can happen. Otherwise capital will go else where.

Pretty much this.

The Left's only path is the accelerationist route of globalism, neoliberalism and consolidation of wider and wider economic, political and trade blocs like the EU. Then we'll be able to make radical demands again.

Until there, it's a waste of time. Even if you push for a concession that would be great for labour, capital will just move. The nation-state is not a workable framework for leftism anymore.

why not zero you succdem scum

Why don't we meme this and do something of practical importance to the working class for once? Just an idea fams.

dude robots lmao

I have been saying this for awhile. That we need to shorten the work week without reducing annual wages. With all the unemployment we have thanks to automation and greater labour productivity, there's no reason why we need 40 hour work weeks anymore. We have 40 hour work weeks because instead of shortening the work week, porky wants to lay people off and pocket the profits for themselves.

We lack political clout and the money to power such a machine requires willing donors, which we also don't have.

I think UBI is pretty interesting too… but why not both?

I sometimes wonders if the reason for this isn't also about the politics of free time, that is the ruling class being afraid less work would also make proles more unruly. People with more free time on their hands to read, learn, educate, organize, etc are waaay more likely to not tolerate capitalism than people who have their mind entirely mobilized by their job all day long. That would explain why capitalist don't seem to have much of a problem with their employee browsing Facebook at the office because they haven't got anything else to do.

Yea part of the reason why the working class is so cucked out of their mind is because they are too busy/distracted to reflect on anything and realize they are lacking class consciousness.

I used to work 40+ hours per week and have been miserable at work for over a year. Then one day I just completely snapped and lost my shit at the office. But most people never get to that point for whatever reason. Maybe it's because I have autism. We have shorter fuses than neurotypicals. And we are treated like dogshit by society. Autists are second-class citizens.

If we wait then we will face extinction as a species. Capitalism will not have time to become unprofitable before we have all starved to death.

We almost had a 30-hour workweek by law in the US. Then FDR happened and implemented social fascism with American characteristics.

Even his achievements like social security were considered conservative by other Western standards: counterpunch.org/2013/11/12/how-franklin-d-roosevelt-botched-social-security/

I'd rather have a eight-hour workday in a two-day workweek tbh. Gets rid of additional commuting time, which for some people can be hour-long.

DUDE X LMAO

The IWW is growing pretty fast, it's going at about 500 members a year atm, given it's tiny right now only 4000 members, but it isn't regressing which is good.

It's not even that radical of a claim, really. Productivity doubled since the '50s but wages stagnated. The 4-hour workday should be part of any decent social-democratic party's platform.

You have to admit that dude robots lmao is pretty common non-response on this board. The logic seems to go that everything will fall into place we just need to wait for the robots to do it for us.

I'm not anti-science or technology but I think a 4 hr day for workers rn would be a good start not sitting around waiting for FALC or nothing. Spending 1/3 of your day at a job you hate is garbage, if I have to be miserable I at least want to limit the amount of time I'm miserable.

i'm thinking of joining the wobblies

You don't need political clout to shitpost incessantly

"Dude robots" fits perfectly into this, though, automation is the best argument for workers' rights in the Western world, period. A relatable, inescapable economic factor that neoliberal economists nervously brush under the rug.

Neoliberal economists are the ones using the robots meme to discourage unionization and wage increases.

I mean when they are actually confronted over their own bullshit, which is rare on mass media.

i checked it out, but what really is the point? i mean, for a workplace or local industry union i can understand, because you'll actually get the union working and bargaining for you. but what exactly do you get with IWW

I've wondered about this too, this is the only thing that has stopped from joining even though I'm a communist not an anarchist.

Go to your local chapter and feel it out, talk to the people there. It's pretty region dependent and you'll get a better feel for what you get out of it

...

My understanding is they do a decent job of teaching you how to organize and i suspect the wobbly shop would be a better sell in some places than the typical union. You don't really have the union boss with the wobblies.

bump