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'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

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Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#81

Post by huffmsa »

huffmsa wrote: post #58
eeZah7Ux wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's purely based on artificial scarcity. Which historical never lasts. Never? Money are based on artificial scarcity as well.

Heard of the blockchain recently? Money used to be backed by naturally scarce resources. An ounce of gold is an ounce is an immutable portion of some finite limit of gold until we get alchemy rolling. But yes, fiat currencies based on the promise of government protection are very susceptible to being popped.

Yes, and it's replacing the other fiat systems we currently have. Full faith and credit of the Venezuelan government? No thanks.

Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#82

Post by achileas »

Agebor wrote: post #31
WhompingWindows wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it though, or is it in stocks? And even if he cashed in on that 4.8 bln, what would he do with it? Surely not put it all as a bolus into the economy, no CEO does that, they'd place their funds into bonds or other stocks. He will likely still buy 1 pair of jeans, 2 pillows, and 1 ice cream like the rest of us. The true way to put that 4.8 billion into the economy is to give the consumers, the drivers and riders the…

Then the value just diffuses in the whole economy, ending up in investments in countless industries. Instead you can keep it in stocks of companies you believe in, like startups and interesting moonshots. It all ends up with the question - do you want the economy to decide where to focus the value (the diffusion) or do you want to decide yourself? But if you have this amount of money in the first place, you are stati…

Putting 'statistically' in front of a fully subjective statement doesn't make it magically objective (or true).

Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#83

Post by tootie »

This is a massive collision of laissez-faire crushing a command economy. Taxis in NYC were overregulated to the point that government was fixing supply to a specific number. Car services were unregulated to the point that they could charge whatever and hire whoever and drive whatever. The TLC should have eased off years ago.

Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#84

Post by api »

reading-at-work wrote: post #67

"The reign of the all-powerful capitalist class has returned with a vengeance. The job conditions of working men and women, thrust backward, will not improve until they regain the militancy and rebuild the popular organizations that seized power from the capitalists." ... "The ruling capitalists will be as vicious as they were in the past. Nothing enrages the rich more than having to part with a fraction of their obs…

"Consumed by greed, rendered numb to human suffering by a life of hedonism and extravagance, devoid of empathy, incapable of self-criticism or self-sacrifice, surrounded by sycophants and leeches who cater to their wishes, appetites and demands, able to use their wealth to ignore the law and destroy critics and opponents, they are among the most repugnant of the human species."

This psychological shift toward delusional megalomania seems to happen to many if not most human beings when given incredibly high status and rendered largely immune to consequences. In authoritarian socialist systems it happens to the ruling party elite and bureaucrats.

Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#86

Post by walterbell »

amelius wrote: post #69
iliketosleep wrote: post #41

The underlying issue is that these VC backed companies break the law to gain a business advantage and face no real consequences, especially if they are successful. But if individuals and small companies attempt to break these very same laws they get crushed. It's almost as though if you've been to Stanford and are backed by well-connected VC's, you're able to recklessly break the law in the name of "disruptive" techn…

> The underlying issue is that these VC backed companies break the law to gain a business advantage and face no real consequences You don't even need to break the law to gain a business advantage. Just making a large pile of money can be sufficient to start dominating a market. Take for example Uber-eats. Small restaurant owners suddenly had to give up control over their sales channel to a big player, and are now for…

What’s the fee? Can they advertise cheaper options, e.g. include a printed menu with each delivery?

Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#87

Post by bbddg »

avoutthere wrote: post #78
throwaaawayNNV wrote: post #10

I run a business where I hire remote people to do fairly basic tasks. I can pay them cheaply, replace them easily when they don't fit anymore. I am the "platform" and I extract the surplus. So I feel the article has very valid points... and I am on the "ruling capitalists" side of my little world. In order to sleep at night, I am just trying not to be an asshole, and to be decent in the way I pay and behave. But as a…

If your workers are doing "fairly basic tasks", why should you be forced to pay them more than their work is worth?

He doesn't pay them how much their work is worth. He pays less, that's how he makes money.

Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#88

Post by reading-at-work »

api wrote: post #84
reading-at-work wrote: post #67

"The reign of the all-powerful capitalist class has returned with a vengeance. The job conditions of working men and women, thrust backward, will not improve until they regain the militancy and rebuild the popular organizations that seized power from the capitalists." ... "The ruling capitalists will be as vicious as they were in the past. Nothing enrages the rich more than having to part with a fraction of their obs…

"Consumed by greed, rendered numb to human suffering by a life of hedonism and extravagance, devoid of empathy, incapable of self-criticism or self-sacrifice, surrounded by sycophants and leeches who cater to their wishes, appetites and demands, able to use their wealth to ignore the law and destroy critics and opponents, they are among the most repugnant of the human species." This psychological shift toward delusio…

Sure, but in the context of this article it's just embellishment to whip up the reader's anger at the supposed injustice of Uber and Lyft. It doesn't contribute to any fact-based arguments and it shows the author as incredibly biased against big business in general.

Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom

#90

Post by iliketosleep »

amelius wrote: post #69
iliketosleep wrote: post #41

The underlying issue is that these VC backed companies break the law to gain a business advantage and face no real consequences, especially if they are successful. But if individuals and small companies attempt to break these very same laws they get crushed. It's almost as though if you've been to Stanford and are backed by well-connected VC's, you're able to recklessly break the law in the name of "disruptive" techn…

> The underlying issue is that these VC backed companies break the law to gain a business advantage and face no real consequences You don't even need to break the law to gain a business advantage. Just making a large pile of money can be sufficient to start dominating a market. Take for example Uber-eats. Small restaurant owners suddenly had to give up control over their sales channel to a big player, and are now for…

Yes, there's a massive trend towards centralization where it's winner takes all, almost like unregulated private monopolies. Government regulation can't keep up and these corporates get richer and more powerful, at the expense of the businesses they "serve". We do seem to have reached a peculiar extreme of capitalism.
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