May Day is approaching, dear Habr readers. Not long ago, I clarified for myself how important it is to continue asking ourselves simple questions, even if it seems like we already know the answer.
So, what are we celebrating?
For a proper understanding, we need to take at least a distant look at the history of the issue. Even for a superficial yet correct understanding, we need to find the original source. I wouldn't want to sound cliché, but direct inquiries about May 1st are not an effective way to gain knowledge. The correct keywords would be 'Haymarket Riot.'
In brief, the essence. Chicago, May 1, 1886
The workday systematically lasts about 15 hours, wages are low, and social guarantees are absent.
Today, a worker, accustomed to modern working conditions as a given, can imagine themselves in the shoes of the 19th-century laborers. This is a thought experimentâassess the scale of the problem, approaching it personally, and when considering a family, the family tragedy of a person who, despite having freedom, lacks free time and financial means.
Naturally, protests and strikes began. I wouldn't want to copy the text of an already well-written article, so I suggest that those interested follow the link to '' There is enough: a rally, police, a provocateur, a bomb, gunfire, accusations, and the execution of the innocent.
The American press pounced on all leftists indiscriminately. Judges and jurors were biased against the defendants, and the identity of the person who threw the bomb was not even attempted to be established; petitions to conduct separate trials for each defendant were rejected. The prosecution's argument was based on the claim that since the defendants did not take measures to search for the terrorist among their ranks, they were in collusion with him.
âŠ
Of the defendants, only Fielden and Parsons were ethnic English; all the others were immigrants from Germany, of whom only Neebe was born in the USA, while the others were immigrants. This circumstance, coupled with the fact that the rally and anarchist publications were aimed at German-speaking workers, led the American public to largely ignore what had occurred and to be favorably inclined towards the subsequent executions. If there was a revival of the labor movement in support of the defendants somewhere, it was abroad â in Europe.
In memory of this event, the first Paris Congress of the Second International in July 1889 decided to hold annual demonstrations on May 1st. This day was declared an international holiday for all workers.
Sometimes there are opinions that this holiday was borrowed in Russia during the revolutionary period, as if we couldnât come up with anything ourselves. I would like to point out that first of all, 'International Workers' Solidarity Day' cannot be borrowed; one can only join it. Secondly, May Day was first commemorated in the Russian Empire in 1890 in Warsaw with a strike of 10,000 workers.
According to estimates from some media, for most citizens of Russia, this day is merely an excuse for entertainment, an additional day off, and the start of the summer gardening season. I believe the reason lies mainly in a lack of awareness of the historical context. The social structure, peace have improved, and the struggle against oppression has come at different costs in various countries around the world. Clearly, there is much to be grateful for, to value and to cherish.
Commodity â Money â Commodity
"Sell yourself." Have you heard anything like this in an interview? Youâre probably lucky; IT professionals tend to be more reasonable in this regard. However, if it's a sales or marketing position, it does come up. Yes, of course, itâs important to understand the phrase in context: you come to an interview â youâre selling yourself as a worker, youâre marketing your own labor on the job market.
However, right after the start of the self-presentation, the potential employer immediately and quickly interrupts. No, itâs not about the self-presentation. The person is observing the other personâs reactions. Why? To take the phrase 'sell yourself' out of the context of the interview and draw conclusions about a person's compromising behavior towards their own honesty and morality?
Shouldn't we shift the paradigm?
What does it mean that a "worker sells themselves"? Yes, a worker exchanges their labor for money. But exchange is a two-sided affair.
Does a worker buy the employer with their time? "Employer, sell yourself?"
Money is not a universal equivalent. Money is a universal material equivalent. It is an intermediate stage of exchange.
- The worker does not sell themselves, but exchanges time and effort for money.
- The employer exchanges money for the worker's efforts and time.
They are equal in the process of exchange. The word 'sell' is a variation of the word 'exchange', where money is involved. A term created to denote a specific case could very well be entirely abolished. But it has captured the consciousness and design thinking of modern individuals. Money did not appear immediately, but very long ago. Here are formulas of monetary exchange known far beyond the economic universities:
Goods/Services Goods/Services = Exchange
Goods/Services -> money -> Goods/Services = Sale (Exchange through money)
Goods/Services -> money, managed by an ethical person -> Goods/Services = Sale (Exchange with respect)
Shouldn't we shift the paradigm of sell-ness, pleasing to the morally weak capital, towards an exchange that respects personal dignity and humanity? No, this is absolutely not a call to abandon money. Please understand me correctly. I want workers in the future to not be sold, but to exchange their labor with respect.
If you ever decide to 'chew on this conceptual idea' for someone, keep the word 'exchange' in mind. The concepts of buying/selling are so deeply embedded in human consciousness that you may get confused before your interlocutor understands it.
An interesting fact.
In business correspondence, the signature 'Sincerely, Name' has become widespread. Yes, perhaps forgotten truths leave their marks in the form of traditions or customs of conducting 'business negotiations'. May 1st is a great opportunity to think about their meaning.
With respect to you and your work, I congratulate Habra, readers, and authors on May 1st.
Source: habr.com
