Disposable people are indispensable. Who else would fight the wars? Who would preach? Who would short derivatives? Who would go to court and argue both sides? Who would legislate? Who would sell red hots at the old ball game?

For too long disposable people have been misrepresented as destitute, homeless, unemployed, or at best precariously employed. True, the destitute, the homeless, the unemployed and the precarious are indeed treated as disposable but most disposable people pursue respectable professions, wear fashionable clothes, reside in nice houses, and keep up with the Jones.

Disposable people are defined by what they do not produce. They do not grow food. They do not build shelters. They do not make clothes. They also do not make the

Karl Marx/Benjamin Franklin Mashup

Capital itself is the moving contradiction, in that it presses to reduce labour time to a minimum, while it posits labour time, on the other side, as sole measure and source of wealth. Remember that time is money. Hence it diminishes labour time in the necessary form so as to increase it in the superfluous form; hence posits the superfluous in growing measure as a condition – question of life or death – for the necessary. 

He that can earn ten shillings a day by his labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expense; he has really spent or rather thrown away five shillings besides. On the one side,

Karl Marx/Benjamin Franklin Mashup

Capital itself is the moving contradiction, in that it presses to reduce labour time to a minimum, while it posits labour time, on the other side, as sole measure and source of wealth. Remember that time is money. Hence it diminishes labour time in the necessary form so as to increase it in the superfluous form; hence posits the superfluous in growing measure as a condition – question of life or death – for the necessary. 

He that can earn ten shillings a day by his labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expense; he has really spent or rather thrown away five shillings besides. On the one side,

Capital itself is the moving contradiction, in that it presses to reduce labour time to a minimum, while it posits labour time, on the other side, as sole measure and source of wealth. Remember that time is money. Hence it diminishes labour time in the necessary form so as to increase it in the superfluous form; hence posits the superfluous in growing measure as a condition – question of life or death – for the necessary. He that can earn ten shillings a day by his labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expense; he has really spent or rather thrown away five shillings besides. On the one side, then, it calls to life all the powers of science and of nature, as of social

Doing the world a favor. For Michael.

I did indeed post Dilke’s work. Then I reposted it. Then, ten years later, Contributions to Political Economy reprinted Dilke’s pamphlet, along with an essay about it by Giancarlo de Vivo. And forthcoming in the next issue of CPE is my article on the “Ambivalence of Disposable Time.” Thank you, Michael, for asking me to do the world a favor. Rest in Peace.

Tags: Michael Perelman

Doing the world a favor. For Michael.

I did indeed post Dilke’s work. Then I reposted it. Then, ten years later, Contributions to Political Economy reprinted Dilke’s pamphlet, along with an essay about it by Giancarlo de Vivo. And forthcoming in the next issue of CPE is my article on the “Ambivalence of Disposable Time.” Thank you, Michael, for asking me to do the world a favor. Rest in Peace.

Tags: Michael Perelman

I did indeed post Dilke’s work. Then I reposted it. Then, ten years later, Contributions to Political Economy reprinted Dilke’s pamphlet, along with an essay about it by Giancarlo de Vivo. And forthcoming in the next issue of CPE is my article on the "Ambivalence of Disposable Time." Thank you, Michael, for asking me to do the world a favor. Rest in Peace.

With two days left in Trump’s term, the cultural Marxism myth that inspired the Oslo and Christchurch terrorists has become official White House dogma.Here is my twitter thread that cites seven of my EconoSpeak articles, going back to 2015, about the pernicious myth: This MAGAzine of untruth: "The 1776 Report" channels terrorist Anders BreivikPolitics of Pastiche: "voters… need someone to fire all the political-correct police"https://t.co/EiPeBoOGfx pic.twitter.com/75CJTX3ZTz— Charles Wentworth Dilke (@Sandwichman_eh) January 19, 2021

Two hundred years ago this February, Charles Wentworth Dilke anonymously published a pamphlet titled The Source and Remedy of the National Difficulties, deduced from principles of political economy. Four decades later, Karl Marx would describe the pamphlet in his notes as an “important advance on Ricardo.” In his preface to volume two of Capital, Friedrich Engels described the pamphlet as the “farthest outpost of an entire literature which in the twenties turned the Ricardian theory of value and surplus value against capitalist production in the interest of the proletariat” and credited Marx with having saved the pamphlet from “falling into oblivion.” 

In the 1960s and 70s, Marx’s notebooks from 1857 to 58 were published in translation as the

Two hundred years ago this February, Charles Wentworth Dilke anonymously published a pamphlet titled The Source and Remedy of the National Difficulties, deduced from principles of political economy. Four decades later, Karl Marx would describe the pamphlet in his notes as an "important advance on Ricardo." In his preface to volume two of Capital, Friedrich Engels described the pamphlet as the "farthest outpost of an entire literature which in the twenties turned the Ricardian theory of value and surplus value against capitalist production in the interest of the proletariat" and credited Marx with having saved the pamphlet from "falling into oblivion." In the 1960s and 70s, Marx’s notebooks from 1857 to 58 were published in translation as the Grundrisse, a section of which – known as the

TRUMP IMPEACHED AGAIN

Why is it that no existing society, nor society that ever existed, has arrived at universal prosperity, considering that in all times, and in all societies, excepting only the very barbarous, a few years would naturally have led to it?How is it that notwithstanding the unbounded extent of capital, the progressive improvement and wonderful perfection of machinery, canals, transportation, and all other things that either facilitate labour or increase its produce; that the population instead of having its labours abridged, works more hours per capita than it did years ago?Why has society never arrived at the enviable situation of universal abundant leisure, although so immediately within its grasp?

Is there any means of adding to national prosperity other than adding to the facilities of living?What is liberty?What is wealth if it does not add to liberty?Who should determine how individuals dispose of their free time?

If the whole labour of the country was just sufficient for the support of the whole population; would there be any surplus labour or capital accumulation?If the whole labour of the country could raise as much in one year as would maintain the population for two years, would the country cease working for a year, would the surplus be left to perish or would the possessors of the surplus produce use it to employ people on something not directly and immediately productive, for instance, the erection of machinery?If surplus produce from the first year is invested in machinery or other productive capital in the second year would the annual output in the third year be the same as, less than, or more than that in the first year?  If the whole labour of the country could raise as much in the third

What would be the ultimate effect on interest rates of a perpetually increasing accumulation of capital?What would be the logical social response to a situation in which the interest rate on money is effectively zero?What was the principal intention and object of the early political economists?What effect does the detail of figures, the jargon of political economists, or the complexity of existing institutions have on the accumulation of capital?

Even More Questions

What is capital?What power does capital have when invested in machinery, lands, agricultural improvements, etc.?What happens to individuals when they have experienced the accumulative power of money?

Are there limits to the accumulation of capital?Under what condition is there a limit to the accumulation of capital?If there are limits to the accumulation of capital, what defines those limits?

What is capital?What power does capital have when invested in machinery, lands, agricultural improvements, etc.?What happens to individuals when they have experienced the accumulative power of money?

What objections are there to the proposition that wealth consists of reserved surplus labour?How may one answer objections to the proposition that wealth consists of reserved surplus labour?What is the difference between value in use and value in exchange of goods?Why should calculation of the wealth of a nation exclude (or include) its usual and necessary consumption?

A Few Questions

What constitutes the wealth of a nation?What is the source of all wealth and revenue?Does the method by which one receives income — whether wage, rent, profit or interest — indicate the ultimate source of the value represented by it? Do stores of money, machinery, manufactured goods or produce represent reserved surplus labour?

What constitutes the wealth of a nation?What is the source of all wealth and revenue?Does the method by which one receives income — whether wage, rent, profit or interest — indicate the ultimate source of the value represented by it? Do stores of money, machinery, manufactured goods or produce represent reserved surplus labour?

…from 200 years ago:"The increase of trade and commerce opened a boundless extent to luxury:—the splendour of luxurious enjoyment in a few excited a worthless, and debasing, and selfish emulation in all:—The attainment of wealth became the ultimate purpose of life:—the selfishness of nature was pampered up by trickery and art:—pride and ambition were made subservient to this vicious purpose:—their appetite was corrupted in their infancy, that it might leave its natural and wholesome nutriment, to feed on the garbage of Change Alley*:—instead of the quiet, the enjoyment, the happiness, and the moral energy of the people, they read in their horn-book of nothing but the wealth, the commerce, the manufactures, the revenue, and the pecuniary resources of the country; the extent of its navy

Why then is it that no existing society, nor society that ever had existence, has arrived at this point of time, considering that in all times, and in all societies, excepting only the very barbarous, a few years would naturally have led to it?How is it too, it might be added, that notwithstanding the unbounded extent of our capital, the progressive improvement and wonderful perfection of our machinery, our canals, roads, and of all other things that can either facilitate labour, or increase its produce; our labourer, instead of having his labours abridged, toils infinitely more, more hours, more laboriously, than the first Celtic savage that crossed over from the Cimmerian Chersonesus, and took possession of the desert island?

In 1995 I launched the TimeWork Web, which was a "research site" for investigating the history, theory, desirability, practicality, and feasibility of reducing the hours of work. The fruits of that endeavor included my history and critique of the "lump of labor" fallacy claim, rediscovery of Sydney Chapman’s once canonical "Hours of Labour" analysis, and the rediscovery and transcription of Charles Wentworth Dilke’s The Source and Remedy of the National Difficulties deduced from principles of political economy. A couple of days ago I sent off my manuscript of an article about the 200-year old pamphlet, first read on microfilm in the basement of the UBC library nearly 22 years ago. The motto of this Sandwichman retrospective comes from Walter Benjamin: It is not the object of the story to

Reichtum ist verfügbare Zeit und nichts weiter

How it started (Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1821):

THE PROGRESS OF THIS INCREASING CAPITAL WOULD, in established societies, BE MARKED BY THE DECREASING INTEREST OF MONEY, or, which is the same thing, the decreasing quantity of the labour of others that would be given for its use; but so long as capital could command interest at all, it would seem to follow, that the society cannot have arrived at that maximum of wealth, or of productive power, when its produce must be allowed to perish.

When, however, it shall have arrived at this maximum, it would be ridiculous to suppose, that society would still continue to exert its utmost productive power. The next consequence therefore would be, that where men

How it started (Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1821):THE PROGRESS OF THIS INCREASING CAPITAL WOULD, in established societies, BE MARKED BY THE DECREASING INTEREST OF MONEY, or, which is the same thing, the decreasing quantity of the labour of others that would be given for its use; but so long as capital could command interest at all, it would seem to follow, that the society cannot have arrived at that maximum of wealth, or of productive power, when its produce must be allowed to perish.When, however, it shall have arrived at this maximum, it would be ridiculous to suppose, that society would still continue to exert its utmost productive power. The next consequence therefore would be, that where men heretofore laboured twelve hours they would now labour six, and this is national wealth, this

On March 15, 2019 a gunman opened fire on worshipers at two Christchurch, New Zealand mosques, killing 50 and wounding around as many. Survivors of gunshot wounds often have traumatic injuries that require multiple surgeries and leave them severely disabled for life. Before embarking on his rampage, the alleged gunman broadcast over the internet a “manifesto” outlining the motive for his deed. In his manifesto, the alleged perpetrator claimed to have had “brief contact” with “Knight Justiciar” Anders Breivik, the convicted Norwegian mass murderer, and to have taken “true inspiration” from Breivik’s “2083” manifesto. Indeed, the Christchurch massacre would fit the definition of a copycat crime in terms of motive, manifesto and mass murder.

Breivik

On March 15, 2019 a gunman opened fire on worshipers at two Christchurch, New Zealand mosques, killing 50 and wounding around as many. Survivors of gunshot wounds often have traumatic injuries that require multiple surgeries and leave them severely disabled for life. Before embarking on his rampage, the alleged gunman broadcast over the internet a "manifesto" outlining the motive for his deed.In his manifesto, the alleged perpetrator claimed to have had "brief contact" with "Knight Justiciar" Anders Breivik, the convicted Norwegian mass murderer, and to have taken "true inspiration" from Breivik’s "2083" manifesto. Indeed, the Christchurch massacre would fit the definition of a copycat crime in terms of motive, manifesto and mass murder.Breivik plagiarized approximately 15,000 words of

Project Perjury

The Washington Post has a story about the Erie, Pennsylvania postal worker who claimed to not have not recanted his fantasy about overhearing a conspiracy to backdate ballots. For some unknown reason Project Veritas thinks the audiotape of the postal worker’s interview with investigators from the Post Office Inspector General’s proves the opposite of what it does. There is no coercion in the interview. The investigators repeatedly advise Hopkins of his right to not speak to them and his right to have a lawyer present. And in no uncertain terms, he recants his affidavit story, even claiming he didn’t read what the Project Veritas lawyers had written for him to sign.
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Of course, the MAGA cultists commenting on the Youtube

The Washington Post has a story about the Erie, Pennsylvania postal worker who claimed to not have not recanted his fantasy about overhearing a conspiracy to backdate ballots. For some unknown reason Project Veritas thinks the audiotape of the postal worker’s interview with investigators from the Post Office Inspector General’s proves the opposite of what it does. There is no coercion in the interview. The investigators repeatedly advise Hopkins of his right to not speak to them and his right to have a lawyer present. And in no uncertain terms, he recants his affidavit story, even claiming he didn’t read what the Project Veritas lawyers had written for him to sign.[embedded content]Of course the MAGA cultists commenting on the Youtube audio are aghast that an investigator would ask a