From "Even anti-capitalists need to work. Enter a different kind of co-working space. In a response to D.C. work culture, the Anti-Capitalist Co-Working Club invites people to spend their 9 to 5 in ways that reject the grind" (WaPo)(gift link).
“Let’s all take a big breath together,” club organizer Sarah Stern said in a firm, gentle voice. The 20 or so people in the airy room inhaled slowly in unison, after a long stretch of silent work time....
In case you wondered why I said "women."
A typical session involves 90 minutes of independent work time followed by a lunch break, where Stern invites attendees to chat with neighbors by using prompt cards with questions like “What’s something you’ve unlearned about ‘hustle’ culture?” and “What’s your go-to ritual when you need to recharge?” Ninety more minutes include reminders to stretch and an art break.... An “art library” has supplies to paint, embroider or sew, including a jar filled with real cicada wings. The soft instrumental songs are akin to what one might hear in a yoga class....
How embarrassing! Credit to Stern for getting the Washington Post to write an article about her little capitalistic anti-capitalistic scheme for extracting $20 bills from ladies who long for a chance to make friends.
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44 comments:
Cicada wings?
The first rule of Anti-Capitalist Co-Working Club is...tell everyone about Anti-Capitalist Co-Working Club. We need more Jacksons coming in. CC, JSM
Via Assistant Village Idiot a pointer, quote, and discussion of a Matt Yglesias post that suggests when a lot of people talk about 'capitalism' now what they really mean is 'the status quo' (more specifically 'our perception of the status quo') which aligns with the definition this group is using.
I asked Grok how cicada wings are used in art projects and was told that they can be used in making earrings, pendants, or charms. Here's a NYT gift link to an article about a jewelry artist https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/style/cicada-jewelry-wings.html — who uses very high level techniques that would not be possible for these club members.
I'm told about efforts to "sew hundreds of wings together with human hair to form veils or floor coverings that explore themes of fragility and change." Again, this club isn't going to operate on that level. That's a museum installation.
Finally something these clubwomen might do: use them as fairy wings. Wire/glue them onto a little doll. Magical!! Awww.
Does whining about one’s life count as emotional labor?
...who's getting paid to pull wings off cicadas?
Well at least they are not back home, strangling their children.
"...such as WeWork and Industrious that allowed remote workers a quiet place to log in outside of their homes..."
...in the heyday WeWork took up a couple floors below us in the office building. Some days as the elevator would pass the floor would be quite loud with people. One day the elevator stopped on their floor, the doors opened, a ping pong ball bounced in, doors shut...as the elevator proceeded the crowd roared...
Retained change from redistributive scams.
...the instinct for some may be to condemn the whole lot for their hypocrisy but there's at least one capitalist capitalizing on their absurdity. Playing the percentages I say well done, sir...
Back in the 70s, I was very close to many members of an orchestra in a non-Northern city. Not a big city either, not small, but not big. 70% of its musicians were selling Amway.
They decided to go on strike for a living wage. That was the end of the orchestra.
Don't know why, but that popped into my mind as I read this. This is the sort of thing that the more creative folks I knew then would have tried to make ends meet along the way.
The rest went into teaching or took auditions until they found another gig. Not career. Gig.
Strategic vs tactical thinking. Many a tear has to fall, but it's all in the game.
"...a Matt Yglesias post that suggests when a lot of people talk about 'capitalism' now what they really mean is 'the status quo'..."
...that's quite observant and true. Unfortunately Bernie bra shysters are more than willing to apply the literal meaning of within their rob and steal political platforms...
...why should we expect anyone below a certain age experienced any sort of civics or economic discussion of the traditional meaning of these systems?
“What’s your go-to ritual when you need to recharge?”
I read Gods of the Copybook Headings so I'm reminded why I have a job in the first place.
So, these gals (I notice they are all women) pay %20 to hang around and gripe about their jobs?! What a racket!
We used to call that "Ha[[y Hour,"
A novel green deal for friends with "benefits".
rehajm said...
"...a Matt Yglesias post that suggests when a lot of people talk about 'capitalism' now what they really mean is 'the status quo'..."
The Capitalism vs Socialism debate dominating politics should be re-branded Free Markets vs Government Control. I believe some views would change if framed this way.
Is it just me, or do the current issue of modern women appear to be completely unprepared for actual life in this world?
These small clubs are silly, a way for like minded people to hang out at its most basic. What bothers me are the voracious salespeople hawking goods to their “fans” based on their celebrity who cosplay as “anti-capitalist” while relying on capitalism 100%. Billy Eilish did just that this week with her new brand of perfume.
Only the truly wealthy in America can afford to cosplay as communist and talk like Bernie, who is also the perfect example of a person who became a millionaire with absolutely no skills or ideas other than quoting Marx and fooling the foolish.
**The Capitalism vs Socialism debate dominating politics should be re-branded Free Markets vs Government Control.**
I prefer going to the heart with COLLECTIVISM vs INDIVIDUALISM because that’s the task facing the “warmth of collectivism” crowd: convincing independent voters to give up their worldview and join the Borg.
You'll get all that in a retirement home. Be careful what you wish for.
As I read, there is about three hours of work going on. It reminds me of that pre-Musk Twitter workplace video where a woman did everything but work.
When did eight hours become a “grind”?
Leftist sister, entire career in non-profits was named the director of an "arts center". She wanted to institute budgeting and planned to repair the badly damaged roof. End of job.
The free market is clearly the most efficient and best way to maximize value and therefore wealth and well-being. But, sorry to say, the American free marketers blew it because they got lax on enforcing antitrust / antimonopoly laws. And if the ‘folks controlling the resulting concentration of capital continue to gather even more wealth and start throwing lots of people out of work by leveraging on AI, they’re going to face a ‘storm the Bastille and Versailles moment’ and they’re not going to like it.
So what is the nature of work that it only requires three hours? It’s not a personal business that is actually making money—small business owners do nothing but work.
It’s not as an employee of a business — such entities figure out where the non-productive fat is. Same with well-run non-profit.
One answer is it’s a woman running a husband-supported business, i..e, a hobby that makes a bit of money because the affluent working husband pays all operational costs.
Better: "Capitalism or the DMV". And if you pick the DMV, the line forms around the block.
What is vs what will never be.
Leftists want to rid the world of productivity - they want to steal it all. They are soviets.
I saw a women wearing a t-shirt -last night! The back of it said: "Socialist anti-Billionaire club"
WE really are a nation of idiots.
I wanted to say to her -
'"After you steal and spend all of the Billionaire's money and put him/her out of business - then what are you going to do""
Probably 100% of the people "working" at the Anti-Capitalist space are capitalists, i.e. they believe they have the right to use (most of) the capital they earn (pretty much) however they like.
Peachy, here in CA there is debate about the "Billionaire" wealth tax. I always point people to the statements made back when the federal income tax was introduced. 90% of folks are completely ignorant of that history. 100% of folks say "It's different this time" followed by zero explanation of why.
Only the wealthiest of nations can support so many whose work is to undermine the wealth of a nation.
"An “art library” has supplies to paint, embroider or sew, including a jar filled with real cicada wings. The soft instrumental songs are akin to what one might hear in a yoga class...."
The word that came to mind when I read that paragraph was "kindergarten."
Oscar Wilde's objection to socialism was that it would take up too many evenings. Actually, that's the attraction for young people. It gives them something to believe in, something to do, and something to belong to.
That's as long as it's a vague, distant prospect. Actually creating and running a socialist economy would not only take up too much time, it would also drive people crazy and ultimately fail. Still, building socialism might have kept Oscar out of trouble.
I'm reminded of how little clubs of like-minded activists replaced the old-style political machines. Are we better off for it? The new, more ideological party structures are as good at stealing elections as the old machines were.
This is not anti capitalism but Soviet Communism. The women pretend to work and they pretend to pay themselves.
Have you tried the Buffalo Cicada Wings? They taste great and they're less filling.
"Kelsey Buckner, 46, a cat sitter, cat photographer, kids’ yoga instructor, silent retreat leader, poet and somatic vocal healer, came to work on her zines and answer emails. Plus, here she could do her daily 2 p.m. yoga nidra, or yogic sleep."
My kind of girl. I like naps at work too. And that resume! Is she possibly available?
I’m privy to the inner workings of a Prog women’s group in an affluent part of Seattle. It is exactly what a conservative would stereotype it as. Almost entirely White, upper middle-class, middle-aged, poorly read but absolutely social-media gorged, sternly and performatively anti-Trump to such a degree that, without exaggeration, it comes off almost like a form of Tourette’s. I guess they’re anti-capitalist ‘cause most have them have been milking overpaid government jobs of dubious utility their entire working lives.
"Not everyone at the Anti-Capitalist Co-Working Club is an actual anti-capitalist....The club isn’t for debating Marxist theory or organizing labor unions."
Yeah, right.
"For many, the name simply signified a set of values they believe are missing from modern work culture: rest, community and self-actualization."
It's collectivist. Self-actualization isn't allowed.
$620 a month is cheap for a co-working space if they provide furniture, utilities and internet, I’d expect you don’t need to pay for every day in the month. Not my cup of tea, but it sounds like a charitable service to me.
That's triple the coworking rate here. $200/month. You can get an office for $600 monthly.
“ In case you wondered why I said "women."”
I’m still wondering, since there was no need to say it. Only women would get involved in this level of stupidity.
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