ID: Kомисcap Rareș is gay for Skye @DerLinkePixel posted:
"Boss makes a dollar
I make a dime
That was a poem
From a simpler time
Boss makes a hundred
I don’t make jack
That’s why I riot
To seize the means back"
ID: Kомисcap Rareș is gay for Skye @DerLinkePixel posted:
"Boss makes a dollar
I make a dime
That was a poem
From a simpler time
Boss makes a hundred
I don’t make jack
That’s why I riot
To seize the means back"
Which means exactly are we seizing back?
Because I already own my means of production… And in western countries, where 80%+ of population works in the services sector, it’s not a unique situation. A lawyer, an accountant, even a mechanic or electrician already own their means of production.
We don’t live in the 1800s anymore…
Lawyers, accountants, and electricians are often self-employed, which is unusual for the service sector. It’s more common to be a mechanic being exploited by Jiffy-Lube. Even doctors are starting to not own their own practices more frequently.
If unionization didn’t work, then every employer would be fine with them.
So why is it more common for mechanics to be exploited by jiffy lube? Other than things that require the dealership (to keep the warranty, for instance) I always go to small shops, with max 2 or 3 employees. As far as I know, jacks, wrenches and screwdrivers haven’t gotten up in price. In my opinion, starting your own shop is hard and people prefer to go the easy way.
I know I did. I myself was self-employed for a while and I went back to a salary, the few extra bucks are not worth the effort. Yes, my employer makes some profit from my work and we have a millionaire CEO, but I can go on vacation or call in sick without stress consuming my time. I’m not in the US tho…
If you’re saying that you own the means of your production while working under an employer, then we might have different definitions of these words.
Screwdrivers are a trivial component in the “barrier to entry” to starting a business. Those extra bucks to you can be a very significant “surplus value” for most employees.
My means of production are a laptop and an internet connection. I have both. My employer can keep the surplus value, as long as they do the customer handling, accounting, marketing, etc, all of which I had to do myself being self-employed.
Do you own the servers your company use? The software you write? Etc.
We rent servers in the cloud because it’s cheaper than owning them. I did the same for some projects when I was freelancing.
The software I write… I don’t own it, same as an electrician doesn’t own the cables he installs in your house. It’s the product I’m getting paid to create, why would I own it?
This whole “we should own the means of production” screams of 19th century farmers and factory workers. It’s 2025, plenty of people already own their means of production, from IT bros and lawyers to farmers, electricians and cleaning personnel. And communism didn’t have to do anything with it.