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@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems
2026-03-10 10:54:24

"The Rise of the Voluntariat" by Geoff Shullenberger (found via D. Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs").
"""
The voluntariat performs skilled work that might still command a wage without compensation, allegedly for the sake of the public good, regardless of the fact that it also contributes directly and unambiguously to the profitability of a corporation. Like the proletariat, then, the voluntariat permits the extraction of surplus value through its labor.
But unlike the proletariat’s labor, the voluntariat’s has become untethered from wages. The voluntariat’s labor is every bit as alienable as the proletariat’s — Coursera’s Translator Contract leaves no doubt about that — but it must be experienced by the voluntariat as a spontaneous, non-alienated gift.
And the voluntariat is not, like the proletariat, the instrument of its own dispossession. Rather, its contribution of uncompensated work accelerates deskilling and undermines the livelihood of those who do not have the luxury of working for free — in this case, professional translators who cannot afford to give away their labor.
"""
#AntiCapitalism

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems
2026-02-03 08:56:56

As I walking through the town of Złotów, I've noticed the rentable electric scooters scattered all over the place, and I was wondering how their batteries handle temperatures below –10°C. I suspect they they don't handle them well at all. But well, business is business; why bother collecting them and storing somewhere through the winter, when you can just leave junk in the middle of the town, and just discount them afterwards.
#AntiCapitalism

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems
2026-03-26 10:28:42

So I'm walking out of the forest, found a way to cross the small river and I'm trying to get to the main road. The road straight ahead is going through a farmstead (surrounded by fence), with "private property, keep out", etm. So I'm turning to the side road. That one is going next to another farmstead (outside the fence), yet "private property", etm.
Seriously, what's wrong with these people?! Did the capitalism mess up their brains so much?! What am I supposed to do, walk straight through their fields?!
#AntiCapitalism