File spoon-archives/marxism2.archive/marxism2_1996/96-04-30.191, message 102


Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 09:48:01 -0600
From: Lisa Rogers <eqwq.lrogers-AT-state.ut.us>
Subject:  Re: Splits in the working class -Reply -Reply -Reply




>  Justin: But false coinscousness has to be somehow false. And it's>
not false that it's in the immediate selfish interest of a worker to
> crossa  picket line and keep her job rather than stay out on strike
and> lose it, even if it would be better for her if the strike
succeeded and> she won greater benefits and higher wages.

Adam:  Yes it is.
If the union is broken, she will be in a worse position after the
strike than before it. All the union agreements will be torn up.
Safety will go out the window. She will have to do more than one
person's job. etc. Of course the beaten strikers will  be in an even
worse position than she will.
The result of her following her incorrect perception of her interests
are that she is worse off, immediatly, directly, in the short term.
***

Lisa:  Note your own phrase, Adam, "_if_ the union is broken".  This
argument assumes that this one worker joining the strike will
actually make the difference between winning or losing the strike. 
If such an outcome were certain, the logic of this argument would be
greatly improved, and the one worker would be much more likely to
join the strike without any persuasion.

You seem to be saying that the worker just "doesn't get it", i.e.
doesn't understand hir own interests.  I think people are generally
both smarter and more self-interested than that.  I'd encourage you
to consider Justin's argument about the difference/conflict between
short-term and long-term interests, and such.  

[The "prisoner's dilemma" logic is also applicable to evolution.  It
is common for short-term, individual interest to prevent or destroy
or co-exist within larger collectives, to prevent the "better outcome
for everybody" from occurring/evolving.  That's why the cases where
"cooperation" does appear are so interesting.  Evol-biols want to
know what are the circumstances under which these things occur. 
That's why we use things like "collective action problem" techniques
>from political / econ, because the problem is the same, in salient
ways.]

Lisa




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