Can “independence” be bad? Port workers’ strike reveals exploitation masked as freedom.

Unlike other one day strikes, the good news about this port strike is that it has been going on for almost three weeks. This length of time slows down the rate of surplus value going to capitalists. Notice the euphemistic use of the word “independent” to mask blatant exploitation. These workers should be called “dependent” contractors. I know this “independent contractor” shit first-hand from working as an adjunct college instructor for 25 years.

Read the full article in Portside.

About Bruce Lerro

Bruce Lerro has taught for 25 years as an adjunct college professor of psychology at Golden Gate University, Dominican University and Diablo Valley College. He has applied a Vygotskian socio-historical perspective to his five books: "From Earth-Spirits to Sky-Gods: the Socio-ecological Origins of Monotheism, Individualism and Hyper-Abstract Reasoning", "Power in Eden: The Emergence of Gender Hierarchies in the Ancient World" (co-authored with Christopher Chase-Dunn), "Social Change: Globalization from the Stone Age to the Present", "Lucifer's Labyrinth: Individualism, Hyper-Abstract Thinking and the Process of Becoming Civilized", and "The Magickal Enchantment of Materialism: Why Marxists Need Neopaganism". He is also a representational artist specializing in pen-and-ink drawings. Bruce is a libertarian communist and lives in Olympia, WA.

View all posts by Bruce Lerro →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *