[lit-ideas] Re: Killing People with Work
- From: John McCreery <mccreery@xxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2004 17:59:07 +0900
On 2004/09/05, at 17:00, Eric Yost wrote:
> Extract of larger article full of more disgusting news about the slave
> future for Americans and everyone else, from
> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/health/05stress.html?pagewanted=1&hp
In Japanese, death from overwork is called _karoshi_ (literally,
over-work-death) and has been much discussed in recent years in the
mass media. Another much-discussed phenomenon is _fureeta_, "free,"
typically part-time workers who move from one low-paying job to another
but prefer doing this to signing on for a full-time corporate job. A
related topic is the number of young people recruited by "good"
companies, who quit within the first two or three years.
All these phenomena are, of course, perfectly consistent with the
thesis advanced in geographer Paul Harvey's _The Condition of
Postmodernism_, which is only one of several books to notice that the
classic Fordist corporation, a large industrial army with masses of
full-time troops, is giving way to smaller, "leaner and meaner"
organizations that outsource as many tasks as possible to outside
suppliers to ensure the mobility of capital and avoid lifetime
commitments to expensive benefits.
For those with the necessary talent, ambition, and connections,
becoming an outsource supplier can important advantages. My company,
The Word Works (me, my wife, two Japanese associates) is a good
example. We often work weekends or at odd times of day, but a network
of generally happy clients generates a modestly yuppieish income, and
the boss and I, being principals, don't have to worry about having
someone breathing down our necks between jobs. We don't take long,
continuous vacations; that would be bad for business. But we do take
off when we want to, taking care to consult with our clients in
advance. Given that our office is a five-minute walk from our home, we
can live and work as casually dressed as we like, and find plenty of
time for politics, the Internet, etc., it's a pretty nice way to live.
We are all too aware, however, of young people now starting out for
whom recurring employment as temp staff or part-timers offers neither
the pressure and rewards of a corporate career nor the risks and
pleasures of running your own business. The _fureeta_ route may look
attractive when you're fresh out of school and more interested in your
buddies and guitar than in having your own family, buying real-estate,
and saving for the future. But what will the _fureeta_ life be like
when you're 40? 50? or 60?
We are also terribly aware of people who found what seemed like a good
job in a local factory, got married, had kids, got a mortage, etc.,
and, then, in their 40s, 50s, or 60s, find that the good, secure job
that they've counted on is gone, and their dreams are in ruins. The
logic of the market says, tough, pick yourself up and find something
else to do. Not too bad, if you're 20 or 30, but if you are older....
Well, what do you know.... You work your butt off on the corporate
track for what? To avoid falling into the "reserve army" of the
proletariat or the veterans who have fallen further, into the
lumpenproletariat. May turn out that old Marx wasn't so wrong after
all.
Cheers,
John McCreery
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