The whole business of subcontracting work to nominally independent self-employeed contractors is all about avoiding the legal and other obligations that socialists have established for the employer/employee relationship.

Arguably, the small self-employed operators are victims of classical Marxist "false consciousness" syndrome.  They think they are capitalists/independent and even small employers, when in reality they are more under the thumb of agribusiness than direct employees are.

These are important points, and I find it hard to fathom how socialist parties have failed to grasp them.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.