turing complete with a stack of 0xdeadbeef
Bob Black published his essay The Abolition of Work in 1985, though it is as prescient as ever. You can find it freely available at The Anarchist Library. As you might anticipate, it is a critique and criticism of work. The first sentence of the essay is “No one should ever work.” — a sentiment I fully endorse and which I suspect the careerist workaholics in Silicon Valley will shun as sacrilege.
Peter Kropotkin wrote and first published The Wage System in La Revolte in 1888. It was translated for Freedom newspaper in 1889. Surprisingly, the essay is not available at The Anarchist Library. However, you can find it in Why Work? Arguments for the Leisure Society, a collection of essays (re)published by PM Press. The essays focus on dissecting “work”, its form under capitalism, and the possibilities for an alternative society.
After reading my recent satire piece, a good friend of mine (and tech worker) asked if I had a list of books or other resources to learn more about labor history and capitalism in the United States, and how the tech industry operates in this broader context. I had been meaning to write about this, and I figured others would likely be interested, too. So, if you are interested in these topics then this is post for you!
I’m currently reading Marquis Bey’s Anarcho-Blackness: Notes Toward a Black Anarchism. These are some reflections on and excerpts from the fourth chapter, titled Unpropertied. This post comes against the backdrop of continued protests and uprisings here in Oakland and the rest of the Bay Area in solidarity with Minneapolis, Kenosha, and the broader fight against police violence.
It is clear that the current administration is not interested in providing aid and support for our communities in response to this public health crisis. They have no plan. Some state governments are stepping up, though not enough, while others are laughably incompetent.
A friend recently sent me The short instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy by Andie Nordgren. It is short and a good primer on relationship anarchy if you are not familiar. Take a look.