Work
The events in Wisconsin and in Japan have stirred my thoughts about work and community. Citizens of Wisconsin, whose former Governor Tommy Thompson became a star in the Republican Party by abruptly ending state aid to the poorest members of Wisconsin society while providing state-subsidized health insurance and school vouchers for those who were too well-off to qualify for Medicaid, are embroiled in a nasty campaign, led by its current Republican Governor, to gut union bargaining and political power. The events in Japan, on the other hand, have brought to clear light the realities of our lives as dwellers in space and time with all the unpredictability of a real world.
The conflict in Wisconsin is the antithesis of what human beings should be doing for their own greater good. The exploitation of labor by those who are rich or in power decimates human community. Labor must be divided to be conquered. This is a tactic as ancient as the most ancient civilizations on the planet. In turn, alienated workers deliver labor grudgingly and are infected by the greed of their masters.
It is obvious to me that universal healthy living in a community cannot be achieved through capitalism as we know it in the United States. Universal healthy living is not a free market. It is a standard of living, based in equality and justice for all. This is why I like the word fellowship, as a synonym for a functional community.
Fellowship. I like to think of community as an organic vessel, which both holds and is composed of its members. The work of keeping a fellowship afloat is an integral part of belonging to it. Rather than ticking off the hours and tasks with a punch clock, members of a healthy community work, play and relax in response to their own and the community's needs. They own their community and share it along with the responsibility of keeping it operational and satisfying to all who belong to it.
Our overpopulated alienation in urban environments stems from the ineffectiveness of government and social institutions to counteract the relentless objectification of human beings by capitalists. In exchange for creature comforts, peddled for profit by those capitalists, Americans are sacrificing investment in their local communities at great psychological and environmental cost. And that cost will be shouldered ultimately by the great majority of citizens, while those who exploit for massive profits wander about the planet from gated oasis to gated oasis.
I believe that conscientiously promoting community on a human scale is a humanist activity. By keeping the awareness of healthy intentional community alive, humanists can promote a greater good in society. As the events in Japan have reminded us, even prosperous societies can be brought low in minutes by life's accidents. A society divided against itself by those who seek to exploit for profits cannot maintain a healthy balance under duress. Perhaps humanism's greatest value to society could be its assembling functional, inclusive communities, which are focused on promoting their own quality of life and the quality of life of the greater human community without the spoilers of religion, politics and materialism.
Integrating the concepts of work for pay and work for the greater good has been a central part of my life's humanist practice. Sharing that process with other humanists sustains my humanist practice. I cannot effectively practice my humanism in isolation. My humanism requires working with other humanists at promoting fellowship, based in our common desire for our own health and for the greater good.
The conflict in Wisconsin is the antithesis of what human beings should be doing for their own greater good. The exploitation of labor by those who are rich or in power decimates human community. Labor must be divided to be conquered. This is a tactic as ancient as the most ancient civilizations on the planet. In turn, alienated workers deliver labor grudgingly and are infected by the greed of their masters.
 |
| Police and Citizen: Greek General Strike. |
Fellowship. I like to think of community as an organic vessel, which both holds and is composed of its members. The work of keeping a fellowship afloat is an integral part of belonging to it. Rather than ticking off the hours and tasks with a punch clock, members of a healthy community work, play and relax in response to their own and the community's needs. They own their community and share it along with the responsibility of keeping it operational and satisfying to all who belong to it.
Our overpopulated alienation in urban environments stems from the ineffectiveness of government and social institutions to counteract the relentless objectification of human beings by capitalists. In exchange for creature comforts, peddled for profit by those capitalists, Americans are sacrificing investment in their local communities at great psychological and environmental cost. And that cost will be shouldered ultimately by the great majority of citizens, while those who exploit for massive profits wander about the planet from gated oasis to gated oasis.
I believe that conscientiously promoting community on a human scale is a humanist activity. By keeping the awareness of healthy intentional community alive, humanists can promote a greater good in society. As the events in Japan have reminded us, even prosperous societies can be brought low in minutes by life's accidents. A society divided against itself by those who seek to exploit for profits cannot maintain a healthy balance under duress. Perhaps humanism's greatest value to society could be its assembling functional, inclusive communities, which are focused on promoting their own quality of life and the quality of life of the greater human community without the spoilers of religion, politics and materialism.
Integrating the concepts of work for pay and work for the greater good has been a central part of my life's humanist practice. Sharing that process with other humanists sustains my humanist practice. I cannot effectively practice my humanism in isolation. My humanism requires working with other humanists at promoting fellowship, based in our common desire for our own health and for the greater good.
Comments
Post a Comment