Where to now?

subvert47

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
Slothrop said:
I'm generally there for the idea that we should be moving towards a shorter working week - there are good arguments that it's a feasible thing to do, and it's obviously desirable - but I'm baffled by the idea that anyone who wasn't already a guaranteed labour voter - and a particular sort of labour voter at that - was going to hear the idea, possibly for the first time, and think "yeah, that sounds inspiring but also achievable" rather than "what fucking planet do these headbangers live on?"

In fact, I got that from a lot of the Labour manifesto stuff. The response I heard a lot from soft-left types was basically that they thought it was "vote for us and get a free pony" stuff - to the extent that there was a plausible vision of a better future there, they weren't seeing it, just a disjointed pile of giveaways.
Click to expand...

Yes. We need people to realize that they deserve it all, that it's actually their right in a more equal society, and that it's very achievable with sufficient political will. Which means changing the false but hammered-in perception that "we can't afford it" and that it's all just fantasy promises for electoral gain. But how to do that when everyone else - especially in the media - is dedicated to maintaining the status quo is to say the least... problematic.
 
D

DannyL

Wild Horses
Robert Skidelsky did a big report for Labour on the four day week. His conclusion was that, never mind its moral value in practical terms it would fail. He cited France's experiement with it in the 90s:

"The evidence is that, after a brief impact effect, France's legislation was rendered broadly ineffective by an accumulation of exceptions and loopholes."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49672757

Idk why they chose not to listen to him. Perhaps they wanted some big transformative policies to highlight and grab headlines.
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I think I agree - such a move would require a huge amount of pre-work, so introducing it as an election pledge, rather than just committing to some of that pre-work, seems a mistake. And other things are more pressing - ending zero hours contracts, ensuring rents swallow up a lower % of salary etc. A four-day week is not necessarily even top of many workers' wishlist -they don't want to work four days and still be struggling to pay rent.

I fully believe in a 4-day week, but presented as a policy in 2019, it's just going to lead to people (rightly) saying it's not possible in this current situation.

From the article:
"This week, London-based communications agency Synergy Vision permanently adopted a four-day week after a six-month trial.
Its 52 staff now work 36 hours each week " Er, sorry, what?
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Again Dan, it all comes to the same issue; it doesn't matter what you say you can do, or even what you can do, if people are so politically disengaged and naive that they believe totally ridiculous lies and have no way of (or interest in?) distinguishing between them and the truth.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I'd love to see luka have at least an attempt at this but I should warn him that Dan is fairly big.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
This is the sort of post that eventually gets exhibited in a court case:

luke_nutter.jpg

It's the self-like that really seals it. Narcissistic personality disorder.
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
That's a great piece, and I think very close to the truth. The ideas were broadly right but the messaging was not canny enough, especially given all the media and Brexit disadvantages Labour faced.
 
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