Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Labouring May Day


Ra Ra! So rather than dancing around May Poles in celebration of May Day, I chose to support International Workers’ Day, by practicing a very activity that inspired the day… I slept.

This Day of celebrating the economic and social achievements of workers came into place following movements around the world protesting for the 8-hour Work Day (or a 40-hour Work Week). Dear Robert Owen, bless him, decided back in 1810, enough with killing the worker off through exploitation, a worker should be able to indulge in 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of rest.

I, one such lowly worker, was far too low on my sleep quota, and so used yesterday to rectify such a dire situation.

Along the same theme, but less in the sense of celebrating the worker as much as punishing the employer, something that I heard on the radio news yesterday… a government spokesperson said that enough is enough, the land must immediately be distributed to the people who work it. How very communist of him.

Hey Comrade.

Pity that many elements of the “top” “more equal” Soviet comrades’ ways were eventually exposed as being a means of exploitation & greed. Rather than means to serve the populace and institute true communist theory. But I digress….

Anyway, it made me think, so what is the farmer then? Not a person? Not a man who works his land? Should the land be taken completely from his ownership, and wages abolished, so that the OTHER people now own small plots of this dissected land? Does this farmer also get a small plot? Or is he turfed off completely?

Do our government spokepeople even think like this?

I’d prefer to know that political spokespeople are intelligent, well read, educated AND not only lateral thinking, but long-term planning, and fair in their decisions. Rather than sprouting nineteenth century literature that they seem to have read off a pamphlet handed out during a mass rally.

How sweet it would be for forethought, insight, and equality to be characteristics of politicians. So that workers of both the employed and employing type can thrive together.

Happy post-Workers Day, Comrades.

9 comments:

High in Dubai said...

Champers, you make a really good point...

But I think foresight is something the entire human race tries to avoid... Well maybe just a fair amount; well maybe just because I'm living in Dubai and it just seems that way.

Dubai, the city, can best be described as the most ego driven construction site in the world... There is not a single thought given to sustainability... It's all about how we can destroy and damage the environment so that rich folk can live out there dreams (as quickly as possible) of lakes in the desserts, man-made islands in the sea and ski-slopes in the malls...

lordwiggly said...

Champers, I would love to leave an intelligent and eloquent comment on your post. But to be brutally honest, my brain hurts. So have a hug instead //Wiggly stretches out his arms and slumps comatose on his keyboard//

Champagne Heathen said...

Hi High! Welcome "back". Good to see you survived your travels, even if only just!
And good point on your side about Dubai & their madness. Let's take a completely inhabitable piece of land, & put as many people & structures & attach as many livelihoods to it as possible. Great to know that if/ when the bubble bursts, at least us aid workers will have a new location of work!

Wiggles - A hug back to you too...I think. Good luck with finding that hangover cure! Junior MaccyD cheese burgers used to by a last resort for me. And sleep.

Anonymous said...

There's no way I could sleep 8 hours in one go...I guess I'll have to practice until I get it right?

Champagne Heathen said...

An excellent point Louisa! And if I am forced to hold training courses of how to sleep in, then I will just be forced to shirk all other work & conduct these. After ll - it is all about the social wellbeing of the workers!

Mr Memetic said...

Work is Hell. No, wait, let me correct that. Working for someone else is hell.

You work hard on your blog, it's obvious. And often people find hobbies of various natures that involve what is technically speaking work.

For example, I have been working on my photography, I have been making an effort with my writing, I have been trying to figure out f$#%ing photoshop.

That is work. But it's work we personally enjoy. Going to gym is work. Learning a martial discipline is work. It's work you may not like initially...

Learning how to edit movies, or edit music is work. Sometimes because you have to teach yourself (because your mate, with zero skilz in tolerating beginners won't help you).

But you do...and instead of getting paid in gold, you're paid in satisfaction from even SLIGHTLY improving in your ability.

The problem with Work, in the economic/business sense is exploitation. And not just with the uneducated class, but even in the intellectual class. I work at a place where you show you've increased 20% in skill, they dump 25% more on you, sometimes even more. But it's one of the more extreme examples.

The point is, it's not evil capitalists... it's like Agent Smith says in The Matrix with his "Humans aren't mammals, they're viruses" speech, we exponetially increase as we develop our technology and our society, and there's not so much an apprenticeship anymore as a training on the job and under tense conditions too.

We're growing too fast for our own good. But it's not any one greedy person behind it...

Like the smart rebel in High School who becomes a strict enforcer of the rules when he is promoted to Prefect, we're all responsible in some way for this version of Earth we're creating.

And any who can't keep up get left behind...

Mr Memetic said...

typo police:

get - gets

Anonymous said...

Crap!...I was feeling quite positive about practising sleeping after Champs' response but Anton, you've really put me in a different funk with yours...think I might stay up all night studying?

Thos e that can't keep up get left behind?! That is soooo morbid. (and all of a sudden I feel just like it's me!) why can't we just say they get much better at whatever other things they were pouring themselves into?

Mr Memetic said...

"Thos e that can't keep up get left behind?! That is soooo morbid. (and all of a sudden I feel just like it's me!) why can't we just say they get much better at whatever other things they were pouring themselves into?"

Because a photography hobby is not as good as doing a two year course involving intense tertiary training in photography. I have no idea what you're studying, but I am one of those who have lost plenty of sleep over how good my specific skills were in a very specific area.

There are alternatives. Unfortunately, being your own boss is high-risk. Most people who start a Small to (and hopefully become) Medium Enterprise fail. I think... Stats is not my area.

But don't lose sleep.
Sleep is important for you to keep on the ball, and convince a potential employer you're better than the other guy.

If you start thinking too much at 2am, then go to a tree-hugging hippie shop, and buy some hypnotic tapes. I personally like the sound of waves crashing on the beach.

It may help.

Don't get left behind, dude. Make a plan. And a plan B.