US Election, Isocracy, Work and Home

[tcpip]

In the global village, the local council election of the United States of America is certainly the most important. Like many others I was rather surprised (and quite horrified) by the election of Donald Trump this week. The psephologists were universally wrong. But at least they're doing the right thing and working out why. There has been a lot of silly opinion pieces trying to justify why the result occured, but the pre-election claims of Michael Moore turned out to be most prescient, not only for guessing that Trump would win but where he would win; namely by a failure to inspire the working-class states of the Great Lakes - that is really the only reason that Clinton lost; Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Unsurprisingly, I am currently in the midst of an article for the Isocracy Network on the election results with a few prescriptive solutions, the most obvious being don't ignore the working class. It also serves as a good focus for the Isocracy AGM (FB link) next Saturday at Trades Hall with Dr. Hans Baer speaking on the relationship between enviromentalism and socialism. This is certainly an issue which has relevance for the occasionally strained relationship here between the Australian Labor Party and the Greens. Similar lessons can be learned in this context; the importance of the environment may be paramount, but the protection of the enviroment will only occur with the support of the working class.

Speaking of work, in my fairly-well paid technocratic role it has been a very demanding week having returned from overseas. I fielded what I could what on the other side of the world, but the bulk of the effort was carried by NinjaDan who is really feeling the weight of what has been an increasingly quantity of technical requests, and certainly far beyond the capacity of 1 EFT looking after two HPC systems. In other work-related news caseopaya has received a new job offer with a good pay rise and engaged in the delightful act of handing a resignation letter to a firm which won the Golden Turd for poor work conditions.

In home life we still have the delightful Jane keeping us company at least for a few more days. There's big hole in the ceiling of our dining-room due to the effects of the water pipe issues from before we left for overseas and one in the back of the wardrobe in our attic bedroom which probably leads to Naria or somesuch. The Owners Corporation is currently having a debate on whether to keep the Courtesy Bus or not, which led me to make a post on the appropriate closed group on Facebook where I illustrated some of the unspoken costs of getting rid of it; it seems that most people who engaged in that discussion are also supportive in retaining the service. Finally, last night went to visit Brendan who has been having his usual unluck with housemates. It was good to catch up as always, and we laughed ourselves through the quite moving NZ film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which of course reminded me that I need to visit the home country again.

Comments

[wildilocks.livejournal.com]

don't ignore the working class

... and thus we come to the next chapter in the future of civilisation.

The working class, for now, is not yet extinct. But within a decade, this class will be massively eroded. It's days are numbered. And that makes Trump the bastion of the final stand of the working class: a class that is about to go the way of the dinosaur. The rust belts will not repopulate: the forgotten towns will not be invigorated; at least, not by giving yet more tax cuts to the obscenely wealthy (clearly, there are other ways). The educated classes know this, and it's why we are so shocked by this outcome. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING can turn back the tide of automation, and this election didn't even begin to touch on the issue that will be bearing down heavily over the coming decade.

How important will the working class be after self-driving trucks have taken the most common job from all the red states?

This stage is a last, desperate angry protest from a class which is in permanent decline. Within 2 election cycles, their votes will no longer be relevant: they won't exist as they do now.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Automation has been major a force since the 1940s in reducing the size of the industrial work-class. But of course, without access to capital, the option for such people is unemployment - and that's what they fear.

The main issue which will cause unemployment, even more so than automation, is Trump's policy on tariffs.