h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

not so blind. Aren´t people who take economical decisions?

Forgive me if it is too clear that I´m a bit illiterate in those topics

You must read Marx! Or, at least, *about* Marx.

Economic Determinism. The Capitalist is forced, through the competition of the market, to squeeze labour tighter and tighter. If not - their company will not attract investment, their profits will fall and they will have no means of livelihood. It is structurally inevitable that the bourgeoisie will work to ensure their separation from the proletariat.

We can see this in Globalisation. If one company is able to source its products from cheap, overseas labour working in poor consitions, the rest are more-or-less obliged to follow. It's called 'Shareholder Value'. This principle has even become enshrined in law as 'Due Diligence'.

I recently read some of Marx's journalism about The Indian Mutiny. The political economic forces he was reporting on are exactly those in play in modern times. He understood globalisation.


Agrupémonos todos,
en la lucha final.
El género humano
es la internacional.

Good grief; i've never heard of these Robo Scanning things! Does this mean France (or my bit of it at any rate) is still in the Dark Ages regarding shopping?

When i manage to hobble along to my (only) local small supermarket, i know just about everyone on the checkouts (there are 5, but only usually two in use) plus the manager, plus the Security guys. There are a couple of checkout ladies i get on with very well, they are about my age & having fun competitions with each other as to "who can wear the most enormous outlandish trashy earrings"?...& they tend to use me as judge; it's hilarious!

Now that i get my shopping delivered, i've got to meet more of the backroom staff, 'cos i go & choose my monthly shop & someone helps me bag it up, stick it back in the trolleys & ensure the delivery people know it's waiting for them; by now i don't even have to spell out my name & address (not many Crazy Anglaisy's live here!)

They also know me because i stand there rattling tins for Red Cross from time to time.

I don't get the impression that anybody who works there feels like it's a "Mc Job", the ones who have worked there since i arrived around 10 years back seem still to be happy, friendly & after their shift has finished, they will often lurk around chatting to the other staff.

I reckon all this goes to show that "keep it small scale" means also "personal contact is a Good Thing" & sometimes might be the only contact a person has that day. However, France is a fairly "touchy-feely" sort of place anyway, we do go around kissing each other rather a lot etc! But certainly up here on the top of the volcano, i know pretty well everyone who lives within walking distance & they know me. Which is really rather nice!

zdt

The only place I've seen it here is non-union places like Home Depot. I suspect the strong unions of the land of Leroux would preclude devices that replace workers.

I see an opportunity for subversive hackers. What if, when you tried to buy something bad for you or the planet, the machine refused to sell it to you? And displayed "Unidentified shit in the bagging area"

I'm not too fond of them either. As you've mentioned, there's the wage slashing aspect. (Isn't it funny how even moderately social democratic policies are wicked and unworkable because they 'hurt business and job creation', yet when it means a reduction in the wage bill, all of a sudden jobs are irrelevant and it becomes a case of 'luddite! You can't stand in the way of progress!')

But another problem with them is if I have so much as a tin of among my groceries, I have to go elsewhere and show ID to prove I'm not a cunning under-age drinker taking advantage of the automation.

Fascists!