Stoney

Puntinicaz, we're not understanding each other. I don't want a world revolution; I'd be satisfied with much less, for example, if people weren't hypocritical and didn't talk about the "virtues" of work when theirs is precarious, or when they work out of necessity, or worse, out of hunger, or simply when they anxiously await Friday night to relieve the week's frustrations because they aren't free to go out on Tuesday or Thursday, or when they plan two weeks of vacation in August to delude themselves into thinking they can afford something in life, or when they buy a car with a multi-installment financing plan to interrupt the monotony of an always identical life. I wish these people would call things what they are: "blackmail" or "alienation." I wish people wouldn't build value scales based on "merit" or "blame" depending on their ability to succeed in something predefined because there's no utility in this other than the competition for its own sake, the test of strength, the desire to assert oneself. 90% of today's problems are caused by not understanding that living well doesn't mean being richer than your neighbor at all costs, and it doesn't mean excelling. I hate conversations that mix job dissatisfaction with complaints about the cost of living when those who make them are only implying envy towards those who have more than they do, because what they don't say is that if they were on the other side, they would behave exactly like those they criticize, and you realize this when your colleagues are obsessed with lotteries, scratch cards, or admire luxurious cars and designer clothes because they envy the high-class life that they will never be able to afford. When the mentality of those who cheat is the same as those who are cheated, world governments have nothing to do with it, and there are neither rich nor poor, but only a mass of hypocrites. I don't complain about the low salary: I'm able to make the money last. I complain instead about the lost time for which I can't do anything, and that's what saddens me. If I work every day busting my ass, it's because things are that way right now, and there's nothing to be done about it; you're forced to pursue certain goals, or to achieve them only in the way you're instructed to. I can't stand those who, being as bound by circumstances as I am, complain and criticize on one hand but then ultimately not only accept that things are this way but even go so far as to say that it's actually right, and begin to daydream about the supposed virtue of those who "sacrifice themselves" by stoically accepting uncomfortable situations they don't want, thus creating this aura of martyrdom in which they identify (we're Catholics: pain means atoning for sins, so it's always right). But I know there's no virtue in accepting a compromise you don't want, or resigning yourself to giving up simple things, or putting aside money you'll need to survive a little longer that you'll inevitably spend working. Anyone who comes out with phrases like "I bust my ass, you know?" is just pretending to complain; they're really just looking for a way to feel important. It's not a matter of economics or production, but of culture and simple observation: those very things that are bypassed a priori when one "thinks of something immediate," convinced that the blame always lies with people who do "too little," and that everything can always be solved with that faux-entrepreneurial attitude filled with mediocre optimism and contempt for everything that isn't money, activity, work, which is exactly what has caused this situation over the decades. This is fighting fire with fire.

But why does everyone confuse cause and effect? "Working your ass off" isn't inherently good; it must also be aimed at something worthwhile. If it's directed towards something that, in the long run, becomes detrimental and leads to a worse collective existence (just like what's happening today), then it doesn't seem like a value worth defending at all. Oh, it's not difficult, you know. Modern society is a product of the "drive to do" we've been discussing, I believe, the same one that has produced bosses, little bosses, big shots, and "worker prime ministers," who flaunt it as if it were a religious dogma. Personally, I think the ethic of "responsibility and hard work" with which many have been raised has been completely misinterpreted. Valuing work is fine, but it seems to me that behind certain discourses lies the typical desire of Catholic culture to flaunt renunciation (of free time, of self-cultivation, of having fun) and especially suffering ("oh, I work harder than you, so I deserve more respect"; in the end, it's just envy for "those who can"). The truth is that even if we were given the chance to work less and enjoy life more, we might feel guilty about it. Personally, I’m not at all happy to work my ass off for nothing, and when I compare myself to someone who has managed to carve out their own space for a serene existence, I feel deeply challenged; I would never dream of comparing myself to them or thinking I'm worth more; I simply believe that what they have managed to "achieve" should be guaranteed for everyone. Otherwise, what the hell are we talking about "advanced society," "modernity," if we are still almost stuck at the concept of serfdom? What has human evolution been, then, just mere technology and the ability to get from Rome to New York in 12 hours? An advanced society works to eliminate unnecessary labor from people's lives, rather inviting people not to see work as a duty but as a possibility for collective growth, not to create more of it just for the sake of it, moreover moralizing about it.

"Companies must produce and earn." But really? Produce WHAT? Earn HOW MUCH? I don’t know if you’ve realized that the crisis (and all THE crises that will come after this one) is precisely due to senseless and reckless production. Honestly, the modern perspective of "producing" gets on my nerves. Humanity is not just what it produces materially; it’s also what it thinks and the choices it makes on a large scale. Industrial production has split the world in two, destroyed continents, shattered millennia-old cultures, and now it’s crashing down on our heads. The idea of a world that produces faster and faster is not feasible; that’s what the crisis, history, and a minimum of observational sense teach us. I would decapitate the CEOs who aim to "maximize profits" by profiting from hot air, I would decapitate the competitive mentality that we’re fed from birth, I would decapitate this sense of "doing" regardless of anything (which only means mere activity detached from any sense other than the pragmatic one of immediate money, dividing people into "those who work hard" and "those who do nothing" in a purely detrimental populist struggle) to which everyone’s consciousness is conditioned.

No, I don’t work in a workshop in Brescia, and I don’t mean to underestimate the effort of the people who get up every day and wear themselves out working in factories. I work with computers, and while factory work is physically exhausting, I assure you that 14-hour shifts in front of a monitor (because, you know, speed in delivery is everything) are certainly not a walk in the park either. The beautiful thing (if you can call it that) is that work is now planned by relying on the overtime of temporary workers, assuming it as a given. When I was hired, I couldn’t believe my eyes: people coming into the office at 9 in the morning and leaving at 2 at night, all justified by the bosses with “hey guys, we’re in an emergency situation, we have deadlines to meet,” but there are ALWAYS deadlines to meet. And so, after wearing out the poor souls who were there then, others came in (including me, who tries to navigate in one way or another to maintain decent working hours), now putting in their 12 hours a day in front of a PC (but it can easily be more) to pick up the mess left by those before them, destroyed by stress and lack of sleep, but everything is fine: the important thing is that things work yes, but not too much, so you keep the goat and the cabbage safe. On one hand, it looks like there’s a lot of work being done, and on the other, they produce stuff of barely acceptable quality, which will serve to bill for additional maintenance work, prolong the broth, sing their praises during meetings with “the results achieved,” and plan “new efforts for improvement,” all in a self-perpetuating cycle of money that comes and goes without producing anything truly USEFUL and concrete. And then they complain about “the crisis,” about energy sources, cataclysms, Berlusconi, and the left. They can go screw themselves.

the lunch break, because we won't be leaving here before 9 PM: those are the "corporate requirements". Many regards, folks.

@Puntinicazpuntini, I’m happy for you, but I feel a bit cheated myself. Anyone born in the '80s like me can't help but feel at least disappointed by the illusion brought by great progress, living in an era where it seemed that the "great ideals" were settled and would no longer be questioned. Maybe we were a bit foolish to believe it, or perhaps just very naïve. I was raised in a "normal" family; my grandparents were workers and farmers, while my parents, at twenty years old, with just a diploma in accounting, found a PERMANENT job that allowed them to settle down and start a family, and moreover left them time to develop a personal culture and cultivate some hobbies as well. That’s why they always encouraged me to have interests, to read, and always looked favorably upon any expressive activities of mine, such as playing music, and that’s how I grew up. That’s why I always took for granted that I would live a more comfortable life than theirs: because it always seemed like the natural course of events. Now, though, it feels like the opposite, that I am destined to have much less than they did, and I certainly don’t mean to say I expected to drive a Ferrari or go on cruises around the world, but simply to have a minimum of TIME to dedicate to my interests or even just to a home and a future family to spend my life with in peace, or simply to read, write, and play music, all those things I’ve always considered natural and normally included in my daily life. Unfortunately, though, I realize that this mindset has been detrimental, that what I’ve done so far has been a hindrance rather than a "plus," and you know where I notice it? In the workplace, when I realize every day that having any kind of personality or critical sense is a disadvantage. I've experienced that no one cares how valuable you are or what you have to offer; all that matters is that you work like a donkey for 12 hours a day, and that the maximum relaxation you allow yourself is talking about soccer transfers in front of the coffee machine with colleagues. So much so that the new corporate trends are just this: not to pay skilled people who cost a lot, who have a brain and a conscience about their work, but to select inexperienced young graduates with a bit of ambition and simple psychological profiles (nowadays in job interviews, the questions are philosophical, they want to know whether you see life as separate from work and whether you are particularly attached to activities you engage in during your free time), offsetting their inexperience with overwork (for instance: 3 or 4 hours of overtime a day is considered "normal"; if you only work your contracted 8 hours, you’re a slacker). I found a job not by saying I knew how to do this or that or that I had studied this or that, but simply stating that I was willing to "actively engage in teamwork for the company’s needs," which is just a euphemism for saying "work your ass off." That’s why certain discussions full of "we should" make me laugh: a large part of the collective hypnosis is made possible by the fact that people are psychologically and physically destroyed by work. A stressed and tired person is easier to fool. When I see people in the square "protesting," I think they are wasting their time, as the next day all of them will go back to work saying "yes sir," or else they won’t eat. One "has to survive," and for this reason accepts burdensome and undignified compromises. It's pointless to continue the "class struggle"; let's stop it, they have won, period. I’m not saying we should be happy, but at least we should be aware and not engage in false demagoguery, which serves no purpose at all. Now I say goodbye, as the lunch break is over; it’s not before 9 PM that you can leave here: those are the "company needs." Good night and happy protesting, I recommend. I always wonder: what is the average age of the people who frequent this site? Have they ever understood what the hell situation we are in?

@Brat12: the redemption from a meaningless existence (they believe).

This album is very interesting. Well done, Mr. Moustache.

But yes, "he" can open his mouth and make noise and say the worst nonsense, then there will always be someone who will strive to find a loophole to say "but nooooo, you didn't understand! :)" Just think, journalists used to do it, but now people do it independently. See? Who said that TV can't teach anything anymore?

Puntinicazpuntini, you don't really stand out much from the rest of the people you criticize; in the end, you only say the usual things, just a bit more sweetened. You, in fact, also point the finger at a category (or more categories: immigrants, "the people," etc.) and get incredibly angry, leading to the usual "let's kick them out" or "let's throw them out" with which the average Italian loves to season political discussions. Because today, political discourse can't go beyond that: the difference among various ideologies reduces to a different opinion on who is to "blame" for this state of affairs. It makes no sense to think like this. Instead, I believe it’s better to realize that the current state of affairs is both a cause and a consequence of a type of globally accepted cultural attitude: that of the modern world, the economic-productive obsession that has lasted for almost a century, and which poets, writers, directors, and musicians have previously described with crystal-clear rationality, labeling it as "inhuman." I remember a splendid documentary by Pasolini about Italian cities, in which he said that under the fascist dictatorship, although the goal was to create a unique Italian culture, the particular cultures and traditions of small villages managed to survive in rural areas, the "human-scale" life, and in essence, the zest for life of simple people; today, however, the modern system has devastated everything, flattened things out, and widened the distances. How can one not recognize that this is indeed the case? It is therefore not a problem that emerged recently, which can be reduced to corrupt politicians, illegal immigration, or Chinese people with Porsches; you cannot uproot decades of speculation, improper enrichment, wars, ideologies, and injustices in the blink of an eye. Problems are not solved with drastic solutions; no one here has a magic wand, and honestly, I hate this mentality that one must wait for the "strong man" to do things "as they should be done," completely disregarding opposition or criticism in line with the fascio-Machiavellian model that is so popular today. This is what no one wants to understand. Things are now out of control and can only continue to evolve for the worse. If we are waiting for people interested in sitting down and studying "solutions," we are in for a rude awakening. The only thing each of us can do, in our own small way (because we must avoid any grand discourse, which always leads to useless absolute statements completely disconnected from reality: history teaches that large systems fail, however well organized, in the face of the daily simplicity of man), is to invent a way not to fall into the clutches of this homogenizing system that enforces cultural and collective flattening. Economic resources are in the hands of a few, and the more time passes, the fewer there will be; saying that resources are available but need to be better distributed makes no sense, as it will never happen. We cannot stand against such a complex system that is so distant from us. In Italy, in particular, from my perspective, they have already largely robbed us; it’s all over now. Our generation (I was born in '80) is pretty much screwed, and so are the ones that follow. All we can do is resist, work to maintain a personal identity beyond everything, beyond the alienating jobs we will be forced to take to support ourselves, beyond the pensions we will not have, and the marginal role we will play. To develop a personal critical sense and pursue the goal of surviving in such a way that we can be ourselves. Who knows, in the future we might be able to rebuild something based on what little we have saved, or at least pass it down. It’s a hope, perhaps futile, but it’s all we have.