Unemployed struggles and dole autonomy
Wednesday 3 March at 7pm 128 Community Centre,
128 Abel Smith St, Wellington
Come along to discuss various tactics used by the unemployed in resisting dole slavery.
All welcome!
With the global recession, and resulting mass layoffs, unemployment is on the rise in Aotearoa. In December 2009, the official rate is 7.3% or 168,000 people. A lot more are unemployed, as the official figures are fiddled to make unemployment seem less. Unemployment is traditionally used to keep wages down, and the dole is paid at such a pittance to make it as unattractive as possible. In short, unemployment is used as a stick to keep people in line.
What tactics have unemployed people successfully used to resist dole slavery? This talk and discussion will look at what has been called ‘dole autonomy’, where people, who loathe work, go on to the dole (or other benefits that pay higher) to simply avoid working. They use the dole for their own ends, whether to create music, art, or be full-time activists. The dole is the material basis for many activist movements and projects.
Is such a tactic an individual form of resistance, especially as it seems to revolve around various individual scams to get more money on the dole? Is it just alternative lifestyleism? When and how does it develop into more collective, open forms of resistance, such as beneficiaries groups? Does it overcome the marginalisation, lack of resources, and the current attacks on beneficiaries?
The talk preceding the discussion will attempt to move beyond the simplistic divide between those leftists who glorify work and all the misery and dull compulsion it entails, and the ‘anti-work lifestylers’ who dismiss people who work as slaves or robots who reproduce capital everyday. It will question the work ethic and work discipline, as well as those ‘workerists’ who only value productive labour (especially male dominated blue collar work), dismiss people who refuse to work, and sneer at the unwaged. It will question some alternative lifestylers who simply think that the solution is for everybody to become unemployed and like them. And it will attempt to link the struggles of the unemployed – the unwaged wing of the working class – with the broader working class as a whole by looking at a few practical examples.
People are most welcome to talk about their experiences on the dole or other benefits.
You may wish to read an interesting article by UK based group Aufheben, here: http://libcom.org/library/dole-autonomy-aufheben about dole autonomy.
This is the first of monthly discussions and film nights by the Wellington branch of the Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement, an anarchist communist group. The aim of these discussions is to look at current and past struggles (as well as topical issues) to learn from them, and to develop theory and analysis which is tied to the very real exploitative conditions we face everyday. We also hope they can allow us to become more effective in our resistance to capitalism and authority in general.
The discussions will be held on the first Wednesday of every month.
