What has now become the old model (the J.O.B. as the usual means of support) was a factory sweatshop partially humanized by several generations of intense activism and reform. Perhaps the precarious “freelancer” model that is rapidly replacing it can similarly be modified. The new rules seem to be that successful self-employment is a necessary but not sufficient condition for basic dignity. We can and should do better. I suspect the boycott will be more relevant than the strike this time around. I particularly like replacing the idea of “general strike” with “general boycott”–instead of “buy nothing day”, how about “live like a monk for a month”?
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