This mysteriousness causes a destructive unease.

June 28, 2019 11:48 AM

“The feminization is the spread of unpaid labor. Now the spread of unpaid labor means that, more and more, you work for a year without money, hoping they will give you the job. And so you do a year. The left, unfortunately, is always worried about technology replacing workers; they are not worried about how, actually, unpaid labor is spreading. What is shrinking is the waged working class, not work.” A long ranging interview between author and activist Silvia Federici and filmmaker Astra Taylor covering globalization, local support networks, feminism, welfare, automation, social reproduction, and how capitalists concede demands. (The Believer)
posted by The Whelk (2 comments total)

When my stay-at-home immigrant Korean mother first entered the (U.S.) workforce for the kind of work that was available to her (low-skill, low-wage jobs in manufacturing, largely), she ceased to do housework nearly full-stop. My (white) father did not take it upon himself to divide the unpaid labor of housework with her, and to her credit nor did my mother expect that this labor get inherited by her 2 kids, both daughters. As a young kid the sudden change was kind of confusing and left me with an internalized disdain for housework and the unacknowledged work of mothering. But I’ve been going back and rethinking how I may view these very personal-feeling injuries as politically inscribed. I’m feeling Federici’s insistence that capitalism has always been in the home (& I now would like to read Caliban and the Witch and Federici’s more recent writings too).

It’s a great article covering a lot of ground (and the documentary is worth a watch too—I liked the scenes and conversations with Federici a lot). Thanks for sharing.

Relevant soundtrack: Housework for 3 / Nice work if you can get it
posted by inkytea at 8:56 PM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

work vs labor, an opportunity to share this tumblr post of a flyer

excerpt:

If you're unemployed, it's not because there isn't any work

Just look around: a housing shortage, crime, pollution; we need better schools and parks. Whatever our needs, they all require work. And as long as we have unsatisfied needs, there's work to be done.

So ask yourself, what kind of world has work but no jobs. It's a world where work is not related to satisfying our needs, a world where work is only related to satisfying the profit needs of business...
posted by Cozybee at 11:16 PM on June 29, 2019 [9 favorites]