21–30 of 59 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." Nowhere is this more true than Silicon Valley.
This implies the poor are better off under socialism than as lower class in a rich country.
I have had about 10 jobs in my life. About half of them were specific to my career. I have found that I am happier building things that the author might consider "bullshit" (relative to my interests) compared to working on things that I am passionate about. When I have a job doing what I "love", someone inevitably takes a steaming shit on the thing I created and forces me to break it in some stupid way. I would rathe…
The co-option of that by the forces of capitalism is much of what the author is complaining about.
This article assumes that every developer works for an SV-style start-up that requires 80 hour weeks building trivial things. I work in the medical industry, rarely work more than 40 hours a week, take six weeks of vacation a year, and can generally feel okay about my output actually helping people lead better lives. Of course, yes, sometimes I do a lot of BS things at my job. However, as another comment has already…
"Sorry, you can’t exercise to make up for sitting or standing at one place for 40 hours a week.
Also I’d like to have kids myself. I respect people who want to do the 40-hour-work-week and kids, but I can’t imagine doing that myself."
Also, her idea that getting paid well means nothing because there are people who make more money left me scratching my head.
So she wants people to work less and get paid more? To work on stupid things, that aren't critical? And someone is willing to pay a lot of money for you to do that? Also, her idea that getting paid well means nothing because there are people who make more money left me scratching my head.
Software development has proven methods for organizing labor by labor instead of by the whims of the owning class. The most useful software in the world is developed by an ecosystem of communities that resembles anarchist, communist ideas of how society at large could operate. Because of the unique capital requirements for software development, cooperative firms are more viable than in any other industry. We could be…
So she wants people to work less and get paid more? To work on stupid things, that aren't critical? And someone is willing to pay a lot of money for you to do that? Also, her idea that getting paid well means nothing because there are people who make more money left me scratching my head.
I think her point was that working (especially long hours) has costs: childcare, restaurant food if you're limited on time to cook, transportation costs, work-appropriate clothing, etc. So while you're being paid "well", you may ultimately be better off working less and being paid less.
Btw I have 30 days of paid vacation per year (which is not unusual in Germany).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." Nowhere is this more true than Silicon Valley.
This implies the poor are better off under socialism than as lower class in a rich country.
It's simple really, eliminate this concept of capital ownership by individuals or corporations. That way, when you work, your boss is not getting a profit on top of your labor. That means your wages go up! Best thing of all, whatever your participating in, you have part ownership in.
Software development has proven methods for organizing labor by labor instead of by the whims of the owning class. The most useful software in the world is developed by an ecosystem of communities that resembles anarchist, communist ideas of how society at large could operate. Because of the unique capital requirements for software development, cooperative firms are more viable than in any other industry. We could be…
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." Nowhere is this more true than Silicon Valley.
Maybe it's related to the kinds of movies that Americans watch? I love watching Hollywood movies sometimes, but I have to say that compared to international films, the characters in American movies tend to be much more one-dimensional (have very well defined roles) and everything always works out for them in the end.
If you watch European movies, the characters are often hard to pin down and the story often ends either badly or unsatisfying at best... Just like real life.