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I've been thinking about time-as-domination, optimization, & its moods (guilt; depression; anxiety; isolation). And the alternative might be: freedom as control of our time. And, also, how to get there: admitting the demands are impossible; sharing grievances; naming the enemy 1/
I listened to @emilygee on @thedigradio recount her experiences in an Amazon warehouse, a call center, & a McDonalds. The common denominator is the relentless & minute control of time; a psychic war that seeps into life well beyond the workplace 2/ tinyurl.com/yyu9o6tm
The account is harrowing, but not w/o hope. Emily says that when workers develop class consciousness, they stop blaming themselves for not "making rate" & start imagining what a reasonable society might look like -- she saw evidence of this consciousness everywhere she worked 3/
This reminded me of @sarahljaffe's excellent essay on Lordstown and the return of the repressed history of worker militancy. Workers struggled for control of time & for a diff future for work. These struggles were lost, but are more relevant than ever 4/ tinyurl.com/yxgpba9z
Not only low-wage service & factory workers face relentless domination. White collar workers, "creative class" who "love their jobs," experience the stress of constant optimization. This essay explores this thru the lens of the "ideal woman" 5/ tinyurl.com/y4vcvnkw
This is not to equate the most exploited with the relatively affluent, but rather to say: the impossible demands of "accelerated capitalism" are a broadly shared condition, as are its moods (depression, guilt & anxiety). What would a coalition of the stressed af 99% look like? 6/
