GNU discussion (was re:Free your phone)

[Renaissance Man]

On 27 Jan 2007, at 3:36 pm, Gabriel Ambuehl wrote:

> For example, if you take on a job, you surrender freedom of  
> movement for parts of the day, too, in exchange for something you  
> want, usually mostly your salary.

I've worked for myself at times and during that time I had complete  
freedom of movement. I could go anywhere I wanted, when I wanted. All  
I had to do was make sure I got enough work done in month to get the  
remuneration I needed.

I currently happen to work for a company at the moment doing much the  
same work but I don't have the same freedom of movement, not because  
I'm required to be at work in order to get my work done but because  
capitalists organisations involve authoritative decision making and  
the person in authority, paying my wage, tells me I have to be there.

Trading work for remuneration doesn't require the surrender of  
freedom of movement (and you're not surrendering anything if the  
*work* actually requires you to be somewhere). The surrender of  
freedom of movement is simply an aspect of capitalist division of  
labour.

Interestingly Stalin never even dreamed of saying to the populace  
they'd have to ask permission to go to the bathroom and yet that much  
control typically exists in capitalist organisations, in a capitalist  
economy.

Renaissance Man