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Impressionistic history of union organization indeed. Some 250 years, from "mechanics" through "progressives" (skipping the STFU, mining, longshore, etc) and CIO/ILU industrial recruitment, culminating in near universally accepted, ironical boilerplate of seniority and safety attributable to increasing corporate productivity.

ohmmmmm

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 08:16:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I've often wondered how exactly the so-called progressive idea that 'workers' need 'jobs' is supposed to be empowering.

I suppose it's better than starving. But isn't it almost completely passive otherwise?

But it's such a reliable and useful trope for the right - support this project/person/boondoggle and get Jobs™ - that I'm surprised it hasn't been challenged more often.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Jun 11th, 2009 at 08:32:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, if you start advocating things like universal living stipends, you're no longer considered a social democrat...

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Thu Jun 11th, 2009 at 03:18:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
oops

The brainless should not be in banking. — Willem Buiter
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jun 11th, 2009 at 03:20:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Yeah, we're commies. What else is new?

Seriously, though, the social democrats have always been about the workers. Other disadvantaged groups have always taken a distinctly secondary position in the socdem programme. The early feminists, for instance, had to fight many of the socdems at least as hard as they had to fight the mommy-stay-at-home conservatives for their emancipation into wider society. They were thought to suppress wages - partly by increasing the number of available warm bodies, partly because there was a fear that they would not unionise properly. (Although to their credit, they came around a lot faster than the conservatives...)

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Thu Jun 11th, 2009 at 03:59:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Even farmers were disadvantaged with respect to industrial workers.

"Socialism" as we know it is a product of the industrial revolution.

The brainless should not be in banking. — Willem Buiter

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jun 11th, 2009 at 04:01:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Which Cohn-Bendit does, btw. (In his book, Que Faire?).
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Jun 12th, 2009 at 04:46:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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