It’s Labor Day in the US! And you know what that means – one day of pretending workers matter, and then it’s back to exploitation all year round! Man, what a great tradition that takes one single day to honor the sacrifices that people have made and the struggles of workers to get fair pay and working conditions, and doesn’t actually change anything! The day, which was proposed by unions of the late 19th century, exists in a world where there’s still enormous worker exploitation. All this celebration hasn’t yielded any fruit. Why? Because the same old rich people are still in charge, still choosing to do anything for profit. The problem of worker exploitation will never be solved until the problem of boardroom psychopathy is. In other words, as long as psychopaths are at the top, they will always be willing to exploit their underlings to the highest extent they can get away with. It’s the psychopaths – the source of the issue – that must be dealt with.
Company scrip is a substitute for legal currency that some companies in the US used to pay their workers, typically in mining or logging camps where everything was operated by the company, including all the stores. And of course, the only place where a company’s scrip was valid was at the company’s own places, so workers would be effectively forced to spend everything at the company. Moreover, if someone wanted to change jobs – well, they wouldn’t have any money to travel or to pay for food in the meantime, so it was much harder to do so. The practice of paying wages in scrip was only made illegal in 1938, with the same act giving workers the right to minimum wage.
So, you see, if companies can get away with not paying their employees real money, they’ll do it. Profit is all that matters to them.
Corporate greed – 100% OFF for the next 364 days! What a steal!
“Money makes the world go round,” goes the saying. Wrong. Labor makes the world go round. Now, it’s true that most labor is motivated by money, but the emphasis deserves to be on the laborers, not on the super rich. A world of modest businesses could survive perfectly fine, and we know this because it did so for centuries before globalization. We don’t need sprawling, multinational corporations – that’s only the mandate of the super rich.
Without labor, money would be useless. Production would stop, and the excessively lavish lifestyles the super rich love so much would be impossible.
Who is John Galt? – the sickest laborer of all, a betrayer of his class.
Wikipedia says, “Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as ‘the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute’.”
So, is it only self-interest that can motivate productive achievement, as Rand believed? Well, no – absolutely not. Altruism and an interest in developing your own talents in a way that benefits everyone can do the same, not that Rand ever understood that, being an extremely selfish individual. You’d have to be incredibly warped to believe that pure self-interest as a moral principle is good. And that is, indeed, what the super rich believe. If they had a single altruistic bone in their body, they would not do what they do. Being super rich is an impossibility for any decent person because it requires total self-interest and a lack of any qualms about that.
Anyone who believes in “objectivism” has something human seriously missing from them. And, contrary to Rand’s claim to reason, they must also be supremely irrational because, in the end, self-interest harms others, which is never rational. What you do to others has indirect effects on you. We’re all part of a world – none of us exists in a vacuum. Considering one’s interests out of the context in which they exist – i.e., the context of those around one – is highly irrational because it’s a kind of willful ignorance.
The same Wikipedia entry also states that one of objectivism’s principles is “that the only social system consistent with this morality is one that displays full respect for individual rights embodied in laissez-faire capitalism”.
She’s absolutely right that the only society consistent with selfishness is one that gives individuals maximum rights and liberty – that’s exactly why we should avoid such a society. The irony, of course, is that laissez-faire capitalism has in fact gotten us to a world in which individuals’ rights are routinely violated by large corporations! How? Because “individual rights” mean a lot more when they pertain to people with power, and a lot less when they pertain to people without! That’s why the individual rights of those higher up on the power ladder should be tempered with principles of justice, integrity, and altruism – not left purely to the whim of the person, who, you remember, could be (and often is) a psychopath. That’s what all the capitalists and libertarians don’t seem to understand.
When you give people the right to infringe on the rights of others, that’s a suppression of individual rights for most people, not an extension of them.
“Academic philosophers have generally paid little attention to or dismissed Rand’s philosophy…” – Wikipedia
Rightly so, because it’s totally nonsensical. It’s an expression of total psychopathy. Rand does not advocate for laborers; she advocates for exactly the kind of world where the super rich capitalists are given even freer reign than they already are, which would of course mean more worker exploitation.
Warren Buffett recently turned 94! Look at his little celebrity photo! Bet he’s a humble old man! Oh, wait … no, humility only applies to humans, doesn’t it? Not to psycho androids pretending to be human.
Buffett’s trajectory and his ability to enjoy what he does into his 90s also struck a chord with Marks.
“He says that he skips to work in the morning. He tackles investing with gusto and joy,” Marks said. “I still haven’t retired, and I hope never to do so, following his example.”
Life’s extremely easy to enjoy when you’re a billionaire! Who knew??? Better get him on some depressants before he starts painting the hallways with blue skies and rainbows!
Another article here: https://fortune.com/well/article/warren-buffett-birthday-longevity-habits/
Its title is: “Warren Buffett turns 94 today. His secret to longevity? Coca-Cola, candy, and a life of joy”
And highly expensive medical care, no doubt!!!!
Yeah, it’s no surprise he lives a life of joy – being a super rich android hardly leaves any room for sadness, does it??? Beep boop, initiating investment mode. Bloop borp bleep. The legend goes, if you say those exact words to Warren Buffett, he goes absolutely mad looking for the nearest stock market information!
If you look up to Warren Buffett, don’t worry – you’ll soon feel that cold emptiness growing inside you (if it hasn’t already). That’s all part of due process. Don’t be alarmed when you look in the mirror one day and can’t recognize yourself. That’s all part of the adjustment period!
The Black Feather Labor Day Celebrationathon!
Though it’s completely useless in a functional sense, let’s celebrate labor day anyway, because the efforts of laborers and what they will go through to keep this world running are truly commendable. And we’ll celebrate them by doing what we do every day – (metaphorically) kicking the shit out of the rich elite, because there is no greater celebration of a people than its liberation from its oppressors!
Today, we have a special feature – the deconstruction of Amazon’s so-called “leadership principles”, found on its jobs website.
- Customer Obsession – “Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.”
- Yes, the customer even comes above the worker, as we’ve seen with delivery drivers not being allowed enough time to go take a piss in an actual bathroom!!
- Ownership – “Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say ‘that’s not my job.’”
- Oh, owners indeed. And of course, the principle of everything being your job does not apply to the higher leaders – you’ll never see Jeff Bezos with a pump truck!!
- Invent and Simplify – “Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by ‘not invented here.’ As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.”
- Oh, fuck off, you’re not fucking Einstein!
- Are Right, A Lot – “Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.”
- Why would someone who is “right a lot” always be working to disprove what they believe?
- Learn and Be Curious – “Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.”
- Correction: they always seek to improve ways to service Amazon. There’s absolutely nothing self-improving about it. A lot of companies do this – they try to sell their job to you on the basis that it will permit you “self-improvement”. In every case, that really just means improving the ways you work for and benefit the company.
- Hire and Develop the Best – “Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.”
- Translation: subjugate your talent to the company and coach others to do the same! Self-improvement my ass!
- Insist on the Highest Standards – “Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.”
- Always work people more and more! If they’re resistant to that idea, they don’t have the “career drive” you want, and therefore should be fired! Never just expect ordinary work from ordinary, perfectly fine workers – no, they have to go above and beyond for us!
- Think Big – “Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.”
- At the expense of workers, of course. This is Amazon’s modus operandi – providing good service to consumers by enforcing unreasonable standards for workers.
- Bias for Action – “Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking.”
- As long as it doesn’t lose us money! We want to explore all possible avenues for expanding our profit, at all times!
- Frugality – “Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.”
- You hear that? Jeffy Bezos wants you to know that having constraints makes you better! HA! Oh, that’s one for the humor book, for sure.
- Earn Trust – “Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.”
- These are good qualities for a team leader to have – not so much executives!
- Dive Deep – “Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.”
- No task is beneath middle management; every task is beneath upper management!!
- Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit – “Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.”
- But they will compromise for the sake of higher-ups, though, right?
- Deliver Results – “Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.”
- Results are the only thing that matter to Jeff Bezos – not the worker exploitation and unreasonable quotas. Very easy to have that mindset when you’re not the one who has to do the work.
- Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer – “Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what’s next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees’ personal success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.”
- You want justice? You can’t do that with Jeff Bezos at the helm. Also, note the MANDATED FUN! You WILL have fun at work!
- The empowerment of employees? Are you kidding? You must call “not being able to use the bathroom” empowering, then!!! No, Amazon wants you empowered only to the extent that you’re able to do your job, and no more.
- Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility – “We started in a garage, but we’re not there anymore. We are big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect. We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions. Our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day. We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large. And we must end every day knowing we can do even more tomorrow. Leaders create more than they consume and always leave things better than how they found them.”
- Ah yes, nothing says “humble” like a trillion dollars. Fuck off, you clowns!
To complete our trashing for Labor Day:
How could it hurt you when it looks so good?