Stir crazy from the forced isolation of my retirement
community, depressed by the news, frustrated by my knowledge that I can do
nothing about the turmoil tearing the world apart, I thought to distract myself
and my readers with a trifle linking the gig economy to Marx’s Capital.
Did it amuse? Did it
distract? Did it for a moment remind us
of better times? Not a bit of it. Instead it elicited a series of comments
that, I must honestly admit, made my heart sink just a little.
Oh well, no one ever accused me of being a minor league Mel
Brooks. I shall content myself with helping my fellow residents of Building 5 to combat the loneliness
caused by the closing of the dining rooms, which has reduced us to eating alone
the meals the management efficiently delivers to our doors.
Have you seen this video (that Leiter linked to) from an intensive care doctor in NYC (which means he sees corona virus cases all day long) explaining clearly how to avoid it, how to face it, etc.? Worth looking at.
ReplyDeletehttps://vimeo.com/399733860?fbclid=IwAR1_k3go6uGitrs4YWVyI17m4S_VV7r2D9yqpRU2sotq9phyxtqyUCK146s
I enjoyed the post very much!
ReplyDeleteReading it, I thought I might recommend a very good book about gig work: Uberland. It's a very detailed look at the lives of Uber drivers. Very interesting--and sad--stuff.
Don't be disheartened! This is a great blog. I read it every day from Montreal, Canada.
ReplyDeleteYou blog with the commenters you have, not the commenters you wish you had (to riff on a remark by a former U.S. Secretary of Defense).
ReplyDeletePoor Bob, we've disappointed him yet again in our lacklustre response to his latest missive on the dead guy!
ReplyDeleteJudging by the large number of hits your site gets, you must have many readers who like and admire and learn things from your blog, and express their appreciation not by favourable comments but by returning to it over and over. I am one.
ReplyDeleteDitto what all the nice people said. (Even though I'm not nice.)
ReplyDeleteYou have fans, who read and learn and are grateful--and perhaps too humble or timid to chime in. My dad used to say "if it is gratitude you want, get a dog." Keep up the good work; it matters.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
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ReplyDeleteYou're a large rock tumbling down the hill, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed your article on Marx and the jig economy (sorry, gig; your post made me feel like dancin' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvPwQdJdkc), and I learned much from it as always from your posts. As a partial corrective to my own being stir crazy, depressed, frustrated, and otherwise disoriented by the spirit of the time, I return to this wonderful 1992 live performance of the tone poem Notturno by Giuseppe Martucci played by The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. I particularly like this performance because I was in the audience at the Philadelphia Academy of Music that evening for the farewell to Maestro Muti. I was not, however, the person who coughed loudly at the pianissimo ending of this lovely piece. If after 28 years I meet the cougher, he and I will have words. Be well.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etl4QqVN2sc
I'm hung up on the "sinking heart." Therefore, let me qualify my remarks. When I said that most of what Marx is about is process, I was referring to the notion of self-creation through work, the process of becoming, of enjoying the manipulation of nature or more specifically I should have said "regarding the liberation theory of Marx," not the explanatory theory. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteDr. Wolff,
ReplyDeleteIllegitimi non carborundum!
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