CNN comes out with an article saying that economy is doing great because a whole bunch of jobs were created.

https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/jobs-report-january-02-02-24/index.html

On the surface that sounds great, but then we can look at other factor, such as the fact that most people in US can’t afford an unexpected $1,000 expense.

https://fortune.com/2024/02/01/emergency-1000-expense-most-americans-broke-debt-bankrate/

This implies that people are being paid subsistence wages, and aren’t able to meet their needs. This is further supported by data from Monster showing that 37 percent of people have two full time jobs now in order to pay their bills.

https://www.denver7.com/news/national/more-americans-report-being-over-employed-by-working-2-full-time-jobs

Turns out that this precise dynamic was identified by Marx in the first volume of Das Kapital:

To me, this is a great example of theory being an invaluable tool for understanding what’s actually happening in the world.

The concept of generating employment holds little significance when businesses are not mandated to pay their workers an equitable and livable wage.

To sum up, read theory!

  • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    10 months ago

    What people should be doing is organizing the same way labour has organized at the start of the 20th century. Unionizing, building mutual support networks, educating other workers, and building political power from the ground up. The reason revolutions happen is precisely because people do nothing until it gets to the point where there are no other options left.