[Reader-list] From the newspaper.

[jeebesh at sarai.net]

dear Taha,

I hope you are not proposing a "steady state" precariousness beyond all
events. It maybe worthwhile to keep a sense of fluctuation within the
precarious condition that you refer to.

Here is a text (in Hind) of a dialogue between a young woman (Babli) with
an older woman (Hasina) who gets odd jobs around getting documents made for
various people. It gives a nuanced idea of what this 'sensing fluctuations'
in daily life of people in fairly difficult circumstances of material life
could be.

http://nangla-maachi.freeflux.net/blog/archive/2008/12/16/hasinaji-babli.html#post_content_extended

The quote by Marx that is circulating is nothing new. It is to Marx "the
negative negation of capital" and could bring in socialism. This is a big
fallacy (proved by many cases) and remains a way of justifying various
state based thinking. Marx through his writing on Paris Commune himself
argued away from this axis of thinking. But that is a different debate.

warmly
Jeebesh


On 8:00 pm 02/11/09 Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Jeebesh
>
> Thank you for sharing your &#39;now and then&#39; analysis regarding
> the rather intricate equation of work, remuneration, circulation of
> money and role of state.
>
>  I find your analysis odd.
>
> Don&#39;t you feel that if we look labor as a macro concept, then for
> the overwhelming majority of workers the world over, what you term as
> &#39;now&#39; was a part of their working lives for ever. Don&#39;t you
> feel that the bulk of producers of this world have worked, are working
> and will work in the informal sector, where precarity is the name of
> the game, rather than an unexpected condition, as you suggest it out to
> be, from a survey of newspaper reports of course? Do you see any
> &#39;change&#39; for the worse in variables list above if we look at
> the current crisis from the view of a dehari mazdoor? I also do not
> know how axiomatic, these so called &#39;axioms&#39; are?
>
>  This is also a time where a lot of neo-commie bull is being peddled
> on various online newspapers. It appears that a mad rush for grabbing
> the dominant idea has begun again.
>
> For instance take the sudden increase in &#39;interest&#39; in 
> &#39;marxist&#39; ideas. I do not know whether you have come across
> this &#39;quote&#39; by Marx- &#39;Owners of capital  will stimulate
> the working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses  and
> technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits, until
>  their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy
> of banks,  which will have to be nationalised, and the State will have
> to take the road  which will eventually lead to communism&#39;.Karl
> Marx, Das  Kapital, 1867
>
> This is utter crap of course, but still I agree that newspapers have
> become fun these days, not to suggest they weren&#39;t earlier.
>
> Regards
>
> Taha
>
> On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 9:18 AM, Jeebesh  wrote:
> Reading the newspaper from various parts of the world, this can be
> gleaned over.
>
>
> AXIOMS:
>
> Go to Work and Produce and get your wages.
>
> Pay your taxes so that state can protect you and build infrastructure
> and social welfare mechanisms.
>
> Buy goods, food, basic necessities, a house maybe, a few dvds etc.
>
> Invest some for your old age needs.
>
> BUT
>
> Now this equation has gone a bit wrong.
>
> Go to work but not sure the wages will come. The company may just
> close. It may just keep shrinking. Some &quot;bad&quot; management
> are simply swindling the companies of it&#39;s assets and wealth.
> Very bad!
>
> State urgently needs to pump in unprecedented money (in many trillion
> dollar obviously)  to keep afloat financial institutions,
> manufacturing units, infrastructure constructions, manage social
> conflicts, act self-righteous to assuage anger of dissolution,
> encourage people to keep buying. From hard state, soft state, etc to
> Busy State.
>
> Buy basic necessities and keep some for harder time ahead.
>
> Sidelines: Is our investments safe? Should we shift it.? How to ensure
> it? Our old age is in danger.
>
> THEN
>
> State needs to spend more. It needs to draw more revenue. How does it
> manage it? More taxation will be dangerous, less taxation will inject
> growth. What to do?
>
> Manufacturing unit to get up, produce and need to sell. Fast. How? To
> whom?
>
> Save your jobs, wages and savings? How?
>
> Newspapers are fun these days!!
>
> warmly
> jeebesh
>
>
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