Filed under: Uncategorized
Marxism isn’t a complete load of crap.
Sure, dialectical materialism is a pile of heaping dung.
But the tension between management and peons under capitalism is no figment of the imagination.
I’ve had a rude introduction to this tension in my own workplace.
My primary manager subscribes to the “absentee landlord” theory of management.
The field workers are left to manage themselves for months, then the manager suddenly shows up, yells a lot, metes out harsh punishment based on rules known only to her, and disappears.
Fearing the manager’s wrathful appearances, some of the workers develop elaborate suck up strategies to make it appear that they are on the manager’s side, when in fact their real identity is elsewhere.
Then a strange things happens.
The ability to brown nose becomes the measure of success, rather than actual productivity.
This is no way to work or live.
Such punitive and fear-based management is a sharp reminder that authority is authority, that managers have power and that that power can be exercised as effective leadership or it can be turned into a kind of corporate despotism.
Unfortunately, I think it has become more the latter than the former in my workplace.
Fortunately, me and most of the other peons have become subversives.
It is a wonderful thing to be immune to the big stick of fear that is management’s default strategy.
In such a situation, it helps not to have a mortgage hanging over your head or a family to feed.
It is difficult for such people to speak their mind to their superiors.
Obviously, the best way to express dissatisfaction with management is to exit the company - cheerfully, happily, and preferably with a roar of laughter.
Getting fired in some situations isn’t a bad thing either.
Either way, my colleagues and I dream of moving on to better things.
I used to think that rebellion was something evil.
Now, I see that one should be rebellious against certain things. That it is human to do so. And that if you don’t stand up against things that should be resisted, you will lose your self respect.
Long live the truth.
Even in a fragmented postmodern context, it is there, still to be discovered, by those longing for an anchor point.
May our time of free-floating confusion see people who engage in the right kind of rebellion.
Not mindless rebellion, but rebellion toward good.
8 Comments so far
Leave a comment
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Seth,
Comment by Bilbo January 9, 2009 @ 12:18 amAs you know the history of Christianity and Judaism is full of examples of followers of Jesus and prophets speaking out, rebelling, and engaging in subversive activities against both the secular and religious “powers that be”. I can’t speak to your current situation because I don’t know any of the people or circumstances but rebellion and subversive activities do, as you imply, have a “potential” positive upside. Of course, rebellion is not automatically an act of virtue and sometimes our motives are associated with a personal agenda which may have more to do with self protection than a selfless desire to do good. I speak from personal experience…Bilbo
Seth –
I think you have a security breach.
I have no doubt that your original post was a thoughtful critique of labor-management relations.
However, it appears that someone has hacked into your blog and replaced your original post with a sophomoric pseudo-critique.
I look forward to reading your original post.
MQTA
Comment by MQTA January 9, 2009 @ 7:00 amSeth, What can I say, but WOW! Who knew? I have a feeling that this piece is pretty much the beginning of the end if management reads it. Unless you’re already gone. Good luck to you in your pursuit of the next better job.
Being a freelancer, I’ve had the occasion to work for MANY employers and have dealt with the occasional screamer myself. It’s definitely an innefective form of management and I agree that it’s a default strategy. Fortunately, my contract always had an out date, so I’ve learned to keep my head down and get through it until the next job is booked. Whenever a land an interview, I contact all my friends and former co-workers who have worked for that particular company to see if they’re worthy of my services. If I find out someone is a prick, I will smile through the interview and then quote an outrageously high rate to ensure I don’t receive an offer. I’ve gone as far as accepting lower paying jobs to avoid that kind of stress in my life. Peace of mind has value.
Comment by Alan G January 9, 2009 @ 9:56 amYou have just unwittingly described in better detail than I would have imagined the problem with marxism. Capitalism has it’s share of problems, but at least under a competitive model the measure of your success is how hard you work, not how well you schmooze authority (aka government). And this is why we conservatives believe in smaller government!
Comment by Aro January 9, 2009 @ 10:40 amMQTA: Now, now, Jim, don’t get your management feathers all ruffled. There are some good managers and some bad managers, and I, for one, always appreciated your thoughtful leadership at Delano High School.
Comment by snidever January 9, 2009 @ 11:57 amI have come to realize that being somewhat subversive is necessary in journalism.
I’ve never met a good reporter yet who wasn’t willing to challenge his superiors.
Fellow Bloggers –
I fear that an imposter has taken control of Seth’s blog.
The real Seth would not treat such complex topics in such a simplistic manner. The real Seth has depth, insight, substance.
We can only hope that the reign of this usurper is brief, and that the real Seth Nidever will return to us soon.
MQTA
(Bilbo: I appreciated and strongly agree with your comment that, “…(R)ebellion is not automatically an act of virtue and sometimes our motives are associated with a personal agenda which may have more to do with self protection than a selfless desire to do good.”)
Comment by MQTA January 9, 2009 @ 6:22 pmDOOD! You are one brave man. I stand in awe and respect of your mighty pen! (keyboard?)
It’s all so sad but true, isn’t it? What’s worse is, most of us over the age of 35 were brought up to believe that if you worked hard and did a good job you would go far. HA! They left out the part where they meant worked hard at sucking up and brown-nosing. So we all grew up believing that hard work and best effort would help us achieve our goals, only to have that band-aid of reality ripped off quick by the first boss we ever had with a toadie who divided their time between sucking up the boss and spying on the rest of us so he could report back to the boss.
Sadly, I have this food and shelter addiction I’ve been battling my entire adult life. So I have no choice but to keep my head down and keep on rowing with the other slaves. Ah, livin’ the dream.
Comment by BJMallory January 10, 2009 @ 12:32 amStill chuckling at the “Peon Uprising” title.
Comment by Kestrel Tim January 15, 2009 @ 11:29 pm