The Overworked American and political apathy

[carolinayellowdog]

Hey,

Recently I heard a radio report on the extreme disparity between vacations for American workers and the rest of the industrialized world. Most of us start with less than two weeks of annual leave, compared to five in places like the Netherlands. But the report went on to point out that even those Americans with generous vacation leave often fail to take it, due to external (supervisory demands) or internal (fear of work piling up) pressures. This hits fairly close to home for me, since while earning five weeks of annual leave I have only managed to take one full week off in the last three years. I get to enjoy lots of long weekends but feel too chained to my desk to get away for longer.

The program referred to Juliet Schor's book The Overworked American, from the early 90s, and went on to say that the disparity has only grown in the last decade. We are now working much longer hours than our parents did, far more than Europeans, and are more productive on an hourly basis as well. It is a bit unsettling to listen to a report that reveals one's own life changes to be part of a sweeping generational transformation in labor conditions.

Tieing this into DU and the current political situation, I wonder if overwork and job insecurity contribute to the political apathy and ignorance that has allowed the current regime to get away with its destructive policies and incompetent performance. Americans have their noses so close to the grindstone that they can't see what is happening in society at large. When they get home they are too exhausted to do anything more intellectually demanding than watch a stupid reality show on TV.

Folks talk about the future agenda of the BFEE, with deficits deliberately run up to destroy Social Security and Medicare, as part of a plan to pauperize workers and increase the power of capitalists. But in fact it seems that the position of workers has been steadily deteriorating for decades now, ever since Reagan was first elected, with a brief respite under Clinton. One encouraging sign noted by Teixera and Judis in The Emerging Democratic Majority is that professionals, who used to identify with the bosses, now see themselves as oppressed workers and are much likelier to vote Dem than they were a generation ago.

Comments?

CYD

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. we are the proletariat

now get back to work and STOP thinking!!! :)

[oneighty]

2. Do not take long vacations!

The boss may decide he/she does not need you!

180

[havocmom]

3. Yep

And if you look around, you might notice that nobody (or very few) are raising the kids.

Remember how the gangs flourished in big cities during the bad economic years resulting from Reagan/Bush I policy? Crime went down during Clinton's upturn. The kids are getting short shrift again cuz the adults are so exhusted and overworked. Look for inceased gang activity, inculding, but no limited to, larger US armed forces acting as bully security forces for US Corporate Intrests abroad.

[CWebster]

4. Smirk takes a month off.

When I was a child, I recall the push for greater leisure time was a noble goal to liberate the worker and improve the quality of life. The 4 day work week was an ideal to be pursued. This was discussed in mainsream education, not Leftist manifestos. Somewhere along the line, anyone who advocated for such things for all became as reviled as a welfare mother.

[tom_paine]

5. Absolutely it is related!

Not only that, but all the entertainment options, special interest magazines, shows, etc. sap into that even further.

The Nazis purposefully cultivated this "too tired worn out and run around" attitude to sap resistance to their mad policies.

Our own Busheviks, grandchildren of Hitler's Financiers, don't need to pursue such an elaborate program of night-spectacles and night-meeting with questionaires to fill out, etc., because that condition has arisen "naturally".

But yes, absolutely it is related.

[RichM]

6. Some of your assertions are valid, but the argument's main thrust is

not quite right, IMO.

Your are basically hypothesizing that because Americans work so hard, they get so exhausted, they can't see what's really happening.

This view of things puts the hard work first, & sees (for example) things like political apathy as a consequence.

I think it's the other way round. The primary feature of American political life is ignorance. Everything else flows from that -- the terrible decisions, the wastefulness, the ability of corrupt wrongheaded policies to nonetheless emerge victorious in elections. The fact that Americans are WILLING to work longer hours than Europeans, with less benefits, is also a consequence of the ignorance of American culture.

It is directly IN THE INTEREST of the ruling capitalists, to have an indoctrinated submissive ignorant & divided population. The more stupid the population, the easier it is to manipulate & control them. This is why rightwingers make so much noise about things like the National Endowment for the Arts, & why they keep insisting that the media has got "liberal bias." They WANT everybody to be confused and stupid. Otherwise there would be a rebellion.

When you control the school system and the media, you have the ability to form the minds & attitudes of most of the population. Most of what you've ever seen on TV only gets on TV if it passes a certain kind of ideological muster. All ideas that might be threatening to the ruling capitalist culture are screened out. What's left is just the garbage that is useful to them -- stuff that tacitly encourages obedience, reverence for money & success, worship of celebrities, etc.

[chadm]

7. I disagree somewhat

It takes a lot of time to educate yourself, and if you're energy is zapped after working 50 hour weeks without vacation, you're unlikely to spend that time.

I have very good friends who, at their core, basically feel the same was as I do about things...yet when you get into the details about politics, etc...they really don't know anything. They can't debate, don't know what's going on, and are basically ignorant about the world they live in.

The difference, they work much longer hours than I do.

[tpub]

8. I think you're right

these people come home and turn on reality TV or Faux News for entertainment.

I think this is why we have to get out soundbytes for our candidates, even if they aren't prone to soundbytes.

Even if this isn't the direct cause of the apathy, we're going to have to help people get past this and actually vote. The easier and less time-consuming we can make it for them, the better.

[maxsolomon]

9. remember how computers were supposes to make work easier?

neither do i.

this is my #1 issue for saving my life. i want to work MUCH MUCH less, and enjoy it MUCH MUCH more.

i believe even the 40 hour work week is too much, once you add in both parents working, absurd commute times, child pick up, & daily errands, there is little home life left.

the poster saying it's due to ignorance is spot on. americans simply don't know how much time other industrialized nations get off. even the japanese take more time off than we do! add in the judeo-christian work ethic, and we can't even enjoy the time we do take.

a pitiful situation, and anyone who opts out is labeled a lazy hippy.

[carolinayellowdog]

10. Can't even enjoy the time we do take

Hey Max,

Yeah, that work ethic does permeate "leisure" for a lot of us. There are endless "to do" lists with household chores-- what better way to spend a Saturday than home improvement? Then there is our penchant for volunteering for community organizations, spending weekends doing things ostensibly leisurely but in fact working to prove we're productive members of society ALL THE TIME. It will all look good on the resume.

A recent week in Canada brought home the same message I used to get from travels in Europe-- everyone else on earth is better at relaxing than we are. It's clear whose interests are and are not served by that state of affairs, but not so clear how deliberately we have been manoevred into national workaholism.

CYD