Greetings good citizen, Malthaus was first in pondering 'over population' with his 'tragedy of the Commons'; a fiction Capitalists cling to because it falsely defends their 'more for me' (and too bad for you) philosophy. While the employer class has long been under fire for not providing enough jobs for those who need them, the investor class was the first to coin the phrase 'surplus population'.
Dicken's single most famous character, Scrooge brandishes the term when 'men of good will' come calling, seeking a contribution for the, er, 'poor'.
How disturbing is it good citizen that we live in a time where a vast majority of the workforce has been made 'redundant' and therefore, 'surplus'?
Perhaps the most frightening part is who gets to decide which among us are 'useless'.
Are YOU capable of making that kind of decision? How do we sort the 'useless' from the 'worthwhile'?
Sadly, there are some basic guidelines. The young are valued for their energy and eagerness (as well as their 'affordability', call it 'training' and pay them dirt...if they quit, oh well there's always more where they came from.)
Then there's the older worker who may not have the 'pep in their step' they had when they were younger but you don't have to tell them EVERYTHING, which in itself can be a huge asset.
Between the two we have the skilled help. Still young and vigorous but they've been on the job long enough so you don't have to watch their every move.
Um, depending on the type of work you perform, your need for each age group varies. If the work is physical, you need more young workers. If the work is skilled, you need people with a solid 'work ethic'...have both in surplus, who do you cut?
The old ones, naturally. As your workers age they start to actually use those benefits you've been offering to attract 'good people' (and the people who sell you those benefits start charging you accordingly.)
We 'older workers' have heard it before, it was used as one of the 'justifications' for shipping jobs off-shore. The beancounters told us (so it must be true) that 'people are expensive'.
See, once again we, as a society/civilization are allowing a specific segment of the whole group to dictate the reason we exist.
Humans are 'social creatures'...but we're also 'opportunists'. We live communally, insect-like because there is 'safety in numbers'. Start throwing whole segments of the population out of the group and you are literally building an 'opposing army'. An army that will eventually plunder your society.
That's why the oligarchs suck as many of the young and vigorous as they can into the military, so they will fight and die someplace else rather than being a threat to them here.
That leaves all of us used up old folks to...well what, exactly?
Aren't the beancounters right? Shouldn't we just off ourselves? Wouldn't it be 'better' for society as a whole if we'd admit we'd been beaten and kiss our loved ones good-bye?
Hell no!
The (alleged) difference between us and the animals is how humans care for their elders...most of whom are still valuable in many ways (some of 'em are smart AND wise!) Our 'usefulness' to the capitalist may be short-lived but our usefulness to our family is life-long! Strong families make a strong society.
Thus it baffles many of us observers to see a fed up and disgusted people continuing to accept the abuse and injustice inflicted upon them by a tiny segment of the population.
It doesn't have to be like this, the choice really is yours.
Think it over...
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner
Dicken's single most famous character, Scrooge brandishes the term when 'men of good will' come calling, seeking a contribution for the, er, 'poor'.
How disturbing is it good citizen that we live in a time where a vast majority of the workforce has been made 'redundant' and therefore, 'surplus'?
Perhaps the most frightening part is who gets to decide which among us are 'useless'.
Are YOU capable of making that kind of decision? How do we sort the 'useless' from the 'worthwhile'?
Sadly, there are some basic guidelines. The young are valued for their energy and eagerness (as well as their 'affordability', call it 'training' and pay them dirt...if they quit, oh well there's always more where they came from.)
Then there's the older worker who may not have the 'pep in their step' they had when they were younger but you don't have to tell them EVERYTHING, which in itself can be a huge asset.
Between the two we have the skilled help. Still young and vigorous but they've been on the job long enough so you don't have to watch their every move.
Um, depending on the type of work you perform, your need for each age group varies. If the work is physical, you need more young workers. If the work is skilled, you need people with a solid 'work ethic'...have both in surplus, who do you cut?
The old ones, naturally. As your workers age they start to actually use those benefits you've been offering to attract 'good people' (and the people who sell you those benefits start charging you accordingly.)
We 'older workers' have heard it before, it was used as one of the 'justifications' for shipping jobs off-shore. The beancounters told us (so it must be true) that 'people are expensive'.
See, once again we, as a society/civilization are allowing a specific segment of the whole group to dictate the reason we exist.
Humans are 'social creatures'...but we're also 'opportunists'. We live communally, insect-like because there is 'safety in numbers'. Start throwing whole segments of the population out of the group and you are literally building an 'opposing army'. An army that will eventually plunder your society.
That's why the oligarchs suck as many of the young and vigorous as they can into the military, so they will fight and die someplace else rather than being a threat to them here.
That leaves all of us used up old folks to...well what, exactly?
Aren't the beancounters right? Shouldn't we just off ourselves? Wouldn't it be 'better' for society as a whole if we'd admit we'd been beaten and kiss our loved ones good-bye?
Hell no!
The (alleged) difference between us and the animals is how humans care for their elders...most of whom are still valuable in many ways (some of 'em are smart AND wise!) Our 'usefulness' to the capitalist may be short-lived but our usefulness to our family is life-long! Strong families make a strong society.
Thus it baffles many of us observers to see a fed up and disgusted people continuing to accept the abuse and injustice inflicted upon them by a tiny segment of the population.
It doesn't have to be like this, the choice really is yours.
Think it over...
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner
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