So I watched this video about the fall of unions within the democratic party, and I feel like saying a few things about it.
The video talked about the union culture back in the day, and how unions were big sources of like social cohesion and socializing, and how they led to a "third place" outside of work where people could meet and do things together and build friendships, and the more they went on about this, the more turned off I get by it.
Like, I'm sorry, but I read Robert Putnam and all, and I just don't romanticize this collective culture crap. I think there is a charm to the new deal era to some extent, but honestly, I really just don't sympathize. The reason I support the concept of unions is simply to improving working conditions, get better pay, better work life balance, etc. Unions are important in countering the inherent bias the system gives employers in our capitalist system.
But I dont like a lot of the baggage that comes along with unions. I'm not a social butterfly, especially not these days. Ive tried socializing previously, only to find out I eventually alienate most people. I dont like to stay attached to friend groups for long as I know they'll eventually turn on me. I only have a handful of truly life long friends. I'm not even super duper close to them for the most part any more. And I just dont empathize with this idea of a third place outside of work (i mean, for me it's like "oh, you mean THE INTERNET? WHERE I PLAY GAMES SOMETIMES?"), and bowling teams, and secret societies, and unions. Maybe the WWII generation really loved that stuff, but eh....my generation? Eh...
I mean, I aint a very socially attached person. Im not really attached to the idea of work or work places either. I kinda just wanna do my own thing and be left alone. And much of my political ideology is actually designed around that. I wanna be left alone.
The reason the collective era died in my opinion was because collectivism stifles individualism, it stifles freedom. And if the neoliberal era did one good thing, it was make us more atomistic and free in that sense. A lot of people who tend to romanticize the past seem to think we lost something in that era, but Id argue that if that era was so great, it probably wouldnt have died.
Still, it did kind of lead to a rise of work culture that leads to backstabbing rather than worker solidarity, and with the erosion of working conditions. And I have to admit, unions, while not perfect organizations, did a lot of good things. The unions were the first real attempt to actually give workers some freedom under capitalism. But doing it through this weird collective culture was always a flawed approach. it took decades to build up to a point where that stuff had critical mass, and then it seemed to evaporate as a mere generational shift from the "greatests" to the boomers. And it's been all downhill from there, with us millennials and zoomers basically living through a gilded age again.
I also think unions are, in a sense, flawed ideologically. Unions played a huge role in the normalization of work and the work ethic. While many under early capitalism rightfully called wage labor wage slavery, unions kinda normalized that weirdo dignity of work concept that i just dont like. It came with this idea that "oh hey, we made work DIGNIFIED, so now you have no right to complain about giving a fair 40 hours of your time" (oh, and then be liked enough to participate in social events outside of work, the union bowling team isnt much different than the company picnic you're expected to go to in some jobs today).
Like, again, I have this libertarian streak of "I wanna be left alone". I really do have this "I wanna do the bare minimum and be left alone" mindset. I dont want feel good mandatory events, and forced socialization, and collectivism, and blah blah blah. This is why, while rejecting the extremes of neoliberalism and the right, I often lack the culture of the new deal era and its union obsession. Unions were never perfect. A lot of people believed unions were corrupt. And while I would say the benefits outweigh the costs, eh, if we can accomplish the benefits another way, then so be it.
In some ways, this is why I'm attracted to UBI and indepentarianism. I like the fact that it gives people that bargaining power and the freedom to also be left alone. It accomplishes a lot of the benefits of unions simply by raising each individuals' bargaining power, hopefully shifting the entire market because people can just say no and quit to conditions they wont participate in. No forced collectivism or socialization, just people doing what they wanna do and live as they wanna live. It's a more individualistic and less baggage based approach to labor. it accomplishes a lot of the same goals since each person becomes a union unto themselves, and without the downsides. And if people want to, they can still organize and have unions. THis just protects people both from bad bosses, but also bad unions. You shouldnt be forced to deal with any of this bullcrap just to live. Give everyone their basic needs, and let people go from there. And then see what happens. If people choose collective associations, let them, if they don't, then....well....don't. But peoples' paychecks shouldnt be tied either to forced union participation, nor forced work participation.
Btw, just for the record, not saying i am endorsing "right to work" or any of that garbage. Just wanna make that clear. But if people can say no to employment, they also can say no to a union, if that makes sense. I understand for some jobs, joining a union might be a condition of employment, and I dont want to do away from that. Just make people free from having to join any institution in the first place.
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