Labour and consumption

Introduction

Labour is the use of our physical and mental resources in order to both ensure our individual survival as well as ensuring the continued existence of society and creating additional value for it. In addition to fulfilling those basic needs, humans also need to experience a sense of purpose through self-determined (re)productive of creative work.

For many people, however, the term work has negative connotations, as it is often considered to be synonymous with wage labour, in other words, the time that we have to sell to pay for our food and rent each and every week. Regardless of whether we enjoy our work or not, we often have no direct connection to its outcome and only receive a small part of the profit we generate.¹

Work, however, should be understood as something positive, because it is the basis for both our material and social wealth. Without our work, we wouldn’t have houses, food, roads, care, or mobile phones; no one would look after our children, cook, resolve conflicts or listen to us when we are unwell. In modern society, much of this work is unpaid, even though it has enormous social value. For the last 500 years, this reproductive labour² has mainly been done by women, lesbians, inter-, non-binary, trans and a-gender people (FLINTA³), often not recognized.

In addition to workers (wage labourers), the wage-dependent class/working class includes all those who are dependent on other financial benefits or support, such as the unemployed, students/apprentices and children. There are therefore considerable differences within the wage-dependent class/working class, e.g. what status, security or resources people have. Looking at a hospital for example, it becomes clear that nursing staff, cleaners, doctors (and others) differ, amongst other aspects, in their access to education, how much salary they receive and the corresponding savings they have, how much influence they have on the organization of their work, but also what they dream of and what worries they have. There is a difference in how they experience problems and how they (can) deal with them, how they think, feel and act.⁶

Economic and social conditions

When we talk about the working class, we want to address precisely these differences and everyday experiences we mentioned above. On the one hand, these differences determine the concrete concerns people have with regard to how work, property and production are organized in society. On the other hand, these differences and experiences are the basis of domination and oppression.

The economic aspect of class – i.e. the relationship to the means of production – therefore also determines the social aspect: it is about the production of social differences in society, which in turn influences access to economic resources, across generations. It’s a bit like playing cards: Those who start with a good hand and good cards have better chances than those with a bad hand.

Under capitalism, the majority of people are oppressed in multiple ways. It is often people who are already disadvantaged by society who, dependent on their field of work, maintain society with their labour: Migrants, FLINTA, queer or poor people. Every now and then, such as during the coronavirus pandemic, they are praised as ‘heroes’ who do the work essential to keep the system going. However, this does nothing to change their chronic underpayment and precarious working conditions. The rest of the time their opinions are not valued, their interests ignored and their lifestyles devalued. This happens not in spite of the fact that they do most of the work required to maintain society, but precisely because of it. In addition, they are confronted with racist, sexist and classist⁷ experiences in their everyday struggles. Further, the class relations are being concealed in order to secure a form of society that is based on racist and patriarchal oppression as well as exploitation, amongst others.

The state plays a central role in maintaining the oppressions just described, as well as the capitalist mode of production. The emergence of the modern nation state is very much linked to the establishment of capitalism. The state makes the rules of this system and enforces them. Usually initially with gentle means, but if necessary also by force. [See our introductory text on self-governance and self-management] Its role has become more complex, partly because the state now fulfills many social tasks in order to regulate social discontent and thus unrest. These tasks include, for example, unemployment benefits, the regulation of safety at work measures, day care for children and many more. This, however, does not change the state’s fundamental role. It represents core interests that maintain capitalism and are even enshrined in the constitution. .[Source] In times of crisis, the state focuses on economic interests – at the expense of labour rights and social issues such as healthcare and education.⁸⁹¹⁰

Production in the 21st century

There is a dominant narrative in the 21st century that the way we work and produce in a globalized and digitalized world is becoming increasingly complex if not intangible – some even claim that class society no longer exists. With the right analysis, however, class society is still clearly recognizable. For this, there are some developments in capitalism that we need to pay particular attention to:

 First of all, globalization means that production chains are organized globally. This means that the individual work steps that go into a product are fragmented across the entire planet. The majority of global production is now outsourced to so-called low-wage countries, while most of the necessary raw materials are still stolen by (former) colonial states in the global South.][Source]

Poorly paid workers in western countries who are not part of the bourgeois middle class and who cannot afford “fair trade” products often have no choice but to perpetuate the exploitation of workers on the other side of the planet by consuming cheap products. The actual work, living conditions and fates of these workers remain largely invisible to consumers on the other side of the globe.

Secondly, there are more and more complex and intransparent employment relationships that we are told are more advantageous for us or necessary for maintaining the national economy. These include, for example, flexible employment contracts that can be terminated at any time, self-employment and temp work. These employment relationships enable employers to outsource risks, avoid social security contributions or withhold part of our wages, among other things. In addition the precarious situation of migrants is particularly exploited for example in seasonal work.

Thirdly, technological progress, despite its potential, often does not lead to an actual improvement in our lives. If we were not bound to the 40-hour week, technology could make our work easier and, if distributed more fairly, decrease our workload [Footnote]. Instead, however, we are experiencing an increase in surveillance in the workplace and even greater competition for lousy and pointless jobs (so-called bullshit jobs¹¹). We are increasingly working to the beat of machines or systems that determine our every move, track every break and plan every delivery route in advance.¹² The result is an increasing alienation¹³ of people from themselves, their coworkers and the products of their own work.

The bourgeoisie must maintain its economic position against the competition in order to continue to profit from the system. One strategy to do this is, to use the many layers of oppression under capitalism to pit us, the proletariat, against one another: the worker with a secure residency status who is led to believe that he has to defend his job from the migrant worker; a woman who is paid less than her male counterparts for the same work; collectives that are forced to pay their members poorly in order to meet the demands of the market; the low-income person who relies on cheap products that have been produced under miserable conditions in low-wage countries.

What unites us all, however, is that we have no real influence on what is produced or what services are provided, and that we have little say in how this is implemented and what happens to the results of our labour. We have a lot to gain if, despite all our differences, we were to stand united for our interests as a global working class. The common and international struggle of the working class, the class struggle from below, is an important engine for fundamental change.

Perspectives for a fundamental change

As a ‘’Perspektive Selbstverwaltung“, our goal is a world in which people stop exploiting each other and nature. A world in which equal conditions are created for all regions of the globe by providing compensation for (post)colonial exploitation. In which we fairly share the tasks that arise and also use our skills for the benefit of us all. In which we use technologies sensibly, not to produce more and more superfluous goods that capitalism depends on selling.

We no longer want to be forced to work for the wealth of a few just for the sake of survival. We no longer want to watch the capitalist system weasel its way out of recurring crises by making us, the working class, carry the main burden of it. We no longer want to have to contribute to the destruction of our own planet through our labour. We want to be free to decide what, how, where and with whom we work. If we hold the fruits of our labour in our own hands instead of toiling for the profit of others, work can once again become a meaningful and fulfilling activity.

To achieve this, we as the working class must tackle the material foundations of this system and bring it down. Of course, the road to this is full of unsolved questions. As an organization, we have some thoughts on how this classless society can be organized (long-term), how we can build it (transitional phase) and what conclusions we can draw from this for our current struggles within capitalism (short-term).

1. Where do we want to go in the long term?

1.1 Basic Principles

Labour and production within the self-managed society follow certain basic principles.

• • A. They are organized according to the needs and abilities within society, e.g. needs for food, housing, rest, social interaction and retreat, creativity, beauty, pleasure and enjoyment.
  • B. They are characterized by sustainability and ecology, because humans are part of nature and depend on it¹⁴: this means using resources responsibly, avoiding emissions that are harmful to the environment and climate, and keeping production and supply chains as short as possible.
  • C. Work should be interesting, challenging and meaningful and allow for the most direct possible connection to the result.
  • D. All according to their needs, all according to their abilities: People work as much for society as they can and want to and are provided for by society irrespective of this. In other words, wage labour is abolished.
  • E. Reproductive work is recognized as work of equal value and shared fairly among all members of a free society.
  • F. All work is valued equally, regardless of who does it.
  • G. Equal material security for all is an essential component of a classless society. If everyone has equal material access, there is no financial dependency and therefore less social dependency. This enables people to make more independent decisions and build more honest and direct relationships with one another.

1.2 Self-management of labour

• • A. Work is self-managed and self-determined: The people who do the work are best placed to decide themselves what is needed and how it should be done. Federalist models and delegation offer many possibilities for more complex organisational structures – no boss or management floor is required. [See program section on self-governance and self-management]
  • B. The means of production are under the control of the workers: this means that the means of production and produce are collectively owned in order to ensure self-management and a classless society.¹⁵
  • C. Knowledge about production processes and implicit expertise is shared and made freely available, and opportunities for professional development are created.
  • D. Decentralization and interregional organization through confederal structures [see program on self-governance and self-management 1.2 Commune and 1.3 Confederation]: there are places where centralization is unavoidable, e.g. due to differently favorable conditions in terms of location. There is a risk of monopolization here, which must be balanced out by equal distribution across regions.

1.3 Production, Service, Consumption and Distribution

• • A. The basis for this is a comprehensive network of production facilities, farms, service collectives, transport routes, power plants, distribution centers and much more. Coordinated structures are needed to ensure that all parts of this network can interact efficiently¹⁶ and fairly. [See program section Labour 1.4 Councils and program section Self-administration 1.3 Confederalism]
    • • A1. Production, including agriculture, is the basis of our material supply. As a liberated society should not be based on the exploitation of people in other societies, this work will probably regain greater relevance locally.
      • A2. Services are just as equally available to everyone as consumer products. Be it medical care and nursing, education, a visit to the hairdresser, etc. The relationship to this and the people who provide the services will be a relationship of equals in a liberated society.
      • A3. Reproductive labour is distributed fairly. This means that production and service work must be organized in such a way that everyone has enough capacity to contribute to it. To ensure that work is distributed equally and regardless of sex and gender, this must be a permanent part of education and upbringing. Additional educational work and awareness-raising are required to overcome the current gender-specific unequal distribution of reproductive labour.
  • B. Distribution is based on the needs of the communes. E.g. of raw materials, work equipment, products and services. [See 1.4 B Consumer councils]
  • C. Consumption is based on needs and availability: with the abolition of wage labour and equal material security for all people [see 1.1 D & G], there is no longer any need for a financial commodity value. The value of a product or service depends on its availability, the amount of labour required and the ecological impact.
    • • C1. Collective consumption: The concept of public libraries can be applied to many everyday objects. Not everyone needs their own car, a drill or other devices that are rarely used. This reduces the demand for products and the amount of labour involved.

1.4 Councils

In order to ensure production, services and their distribution, certain institutions are needed to coordinate their interaction and collect statistics on production, consumption, resources and capacities. These institutions can keep an overview, make long-term plans as well as be approachable and open to criticism.

At the same time there is a danger in centralized institutions, namely that bureaucratic, state-like instruments of mastery will emerge that are removed from the realities of the lives of the majority. This is why it is necessary to have foundational mechanisms that prevent the accumulation of power and establish democratic control. [See our program on self-government 1.1 Basic principles of self-government.]

• • A. Workers Councils: decide at their respective workplaces how and when work is carried out, how tasks are distributed and how processes are harmonized. They also mediate between the different needs of the workers. They are made up of delegates from the area under their responsibility and their members take part in everyday working life as equals.
    • • A1. Sector confederations: Formed by delegates from different businesses in a sector (e.g. health, public transport, agriculture, construction), this simplifies and encourages cooperation and avoids competition. Orders are distributed according to available capacity.
      • A2. Labour confederations: Formed by delegates of the sectoral confederation to coordinate the various areas of work (e.g. complex production chains, individual sectors) and to coordinate production, reproduction and services in such a way that the needs of the community can be met.
  • B. Consumer councils: Consumer councils identify the community’s needs for goods and services and are made up of delegates from all areas of life (e.g. FLINTA*, communes, business, housing unit). They follow the bottom-up model communal – regional – interregional [see program section Self-governance and self-management 1. Long-term] and are linked to neighborhood structures at communal level.¹⁷
    • • B1. Supply and demand: A decision is also made as to when needs should result in an actual supply. If necessary, they can create offers that meet a ‘too small’ or not concrete demand or need (e.g. counseling services, vaccinations).¹⁸
  • C. Coordination councils: mediate between labour confederations and interregional consumer confederations, i.e. they match the announced needs with the existing offers and coordinate the distribution, for example. In doing so, they can also identify missing capacities and provide the labour confederation with new resources or workers, which can also mean that they pass on the need for certain training places to education councils, for example. Coordination councils are made up of capable and interested individuals and delegates from the various areas of work and life.

The councils operate according to the following principles:

• • D. Members of the councils are elected by the grassroots. For example, a labour council is elected by the workers of the company, a consumer council by the inhabitants of the region it represents. Their work is limited in time, they act with an imperative mandate and can be dismissed at any time if they do not fulfill it [see program section on self-governance and self-management 1.1 D].
  • E. Councils have no decision-making power on issues that do not directly affect them. For example, a coordination council does not decide how a job is carried out (the labour council does that itself), but can co-decide on the outcome because it affects other parts of society depending on the product or service.
  • F. Responsibility and reliability are necessary depending on the complexity of the production process or the dependency of other people on a job – both individually and collectively.
  • G. In the case of conflicting positions and needs, the councils are responsible for finding compromises among themselves in a solution-orientated manner.
    • • G1. If conflicts of interest escalate, the justice structures can be addressed in order to mediate [see our program on justice].
  • H. The use of appropriate technologies is essential, especially when collecting and processing data on consumption, production, reproduction and services.¹⁹

Example

Because the classless society is based on free association and free initiative – the ‚freedom to‘ – it is important that these are guaranteed. Even in a liberated society, people should be able to decide for themselves what education and work they pursue. This example is intended to give an impression of how the economy (demand and supply) can function in an anarchist society and how the proposed institutions can work together.

In the communes, the consumer and coordination councils are used to determine what the demand is for certain professions, products or services and how that might develop in the future. In the education system, for example, this can be used to determine how many training places in a given sector are needed so that the positions can be filled and people can actually use the skills they have learned. This can work similarly for production and services. The consumption councils determine what the demand is and the coordination councils compile this information (supra)regionally along with the constant data on production and available services.This information forms the basis for the labour confederation so adjustments to production and services can be coordinated. It obtains information via the labour councils (from which it is formed) about what can be produced, where bottlenecks are imminent or overproduction may occur. The labour councils communicate whether they can meet the new demand and what they need to do so.

It may also be that new industries or services are needed because a demand cannot be met or there are new developments. For this purpose, the coordination councils can propose open ‚jobs‘ for which resources are made available by society and for which people can apply with project proposals.

Society actually already works in roughly the same way – with the big difference that today’s „free“ market economy is oriented towards profit rather than need and is based on competition rather than cooperation. Someone has an idea to start their own business and goes to the bank. There, in order to obtain resources (usually in the form of a loan), you need a business plan that has to be approved by the bank. However, the bank can also reject it if it believes that it does not generate enough profit, cannot be marketed or is too risky. In the liberated society, however, there will be no more banks. In order to set up new initiatives, a claim is made on the resources of the community, which can use similar procedures to check whether the initiative is in line with demand, needs and available resources. For example, if there is a demand for bakeries, the relevant institution determines how many are needed and where. Accordingly, resources are made available for this (or not). This process can also work with more complex production chains or with research.

[See also: diagram showing the functionality and relationships of the various councils]

1.5 Technology

The social circumstances – whether capitalism or a liberated society – determine the purposes for which technology is developed and how it is used, as well as the purpose of science and research. Today’s society is faced with a contradiction: on the one hand, the huge potential that the possibilities of automation hold for making working conditions easier; on the other hand, the necessity of exploiting workers under capitalism, which uses this potential primarily to increase the amount of surveillance, exploitation and alienation facing workers. Technology can therefore be used both as an instrument of domination and as a tool for liberation. The decisive factor is how we use and further develop it – this should be done according to the following basic principles:

• • A. Sustainable and responsible use of technology: Technology is related to society and the environment and should therefore reflect social values and interests. This includes a positive relationship to the work process, free initiative and independent thinking (instead of, for example, alienation and bureaucracy), transparency and protection of personal data as well as ecological sustainability. [See program section on self-governance and self-management]
  • B. Creative commons and open source: Just as the means of production are collectively owned, technology and knowledge (e.g. construction plans, manufacturing processes for medicines, software code) should be freely accessible for all and open to further improvement so as to serve humanity as a whole.
  • C. Making work easier, supplementing or even replacing it with technology: Wo möglich sollen neue Produktionsweisen und technologische Fortschritte eingesetzt werden; solange sie in Einklang sind mit Punkt A.
  • D. Information exchange and planning: Modern data collection (Big Data) enables the collection of information on consumption, production and services and can thus support planning and coordination by the councils (see 1.4 C); as long as it stays in line with point 1.5 A.

2. Transitional phase

We have just described how we envision the organization of production and work in a liberated society. However, if we start from the basis of today’s society and mode of production organized by the capitalist state, we will encounter many contradictions and open questions in the transition phase for which we need to find answers.

2.1 Key sectors

To ensure that the supply system does not collapse in the event of a revolution, it is important to identify those sectors of labour and production that provide people with essential goods and services (e.g. food and healthcare), transport and storage, energy supply, drinking water and wastewater supply. The following questions, among others, are particularly important and their answers provide an overview of the present situation and the possibilities of a revolutionary society.

• • A. Local infrastructure: Where are the important companies, distribution centers and logistical hubs located? How many and which people work there and under what conditions?
  • B. Class relations and distribution of capital: What is the class composition of society in general (proportion of workers, self-employed, small business owners, unemployed, farmers, seasonal workers, etc.)? How is capital distributed in this society?
  • C. Reproductive labour: In order to recognize it as work of equal value, it would have to be compensated as longs as the calculation of working time is still based on money. What consequences does this have for the sphere of production, which is currently still completely dependent on unpaid reproductive labour?²⁰What potential is unleashed by this change and what role can it play in building a liberated society? (see also point 2.5 A3) In order to overcome the current gender-specific unequal distribution of reproductive labour, additional educational work and awareness raising are needed.
  • D. Analysis of capitalist dependencies: What would be the direct consequences for the economy if imports, exports and a production and working method based on the exploitation of people and nature were suddenly stopped? How can preparations be made to prevent emergencies in broad sections of society?
    • • D1. Dependence on other capitalist states: To what extent is society dependent on imports and exports? How are these imports financed and what trade relations (and dependencies) exist?
      • D2. Trade with capitalist states: What does the connection of a libertarian economy to the international commodity market, from which it probably cannot be completely decoupled, look like? Here we can learn from the lessons of history.²¹
      • D3. Trade with Allies: Is it possible to obtain certain resources from allied revolutionary areas instead of capitalist ones?

2.2 Technology

• • A. Automation and technology transfer: Which areas of production are already fairly well automated? What can technology transfer to other key areas look like?
  • B. Necessity and functions of technologies: Which technologies should be retained, which should be modified and which will become superfluous or are not desirable? What exactly needs to be changed so that they can be used in the interest of society as a whole and in line with our fundamental values (see Long term 1.5)?
  • C. Dependence on global chains of production: Usually, technology is tied to international supply chains and rare resources that are not available locally. Revolutionary areas are often confronted with economic blockades (sanctions), which disrupt these supply chains. How can we approach dealing with a lack of necessary resources?²² [See 2.1 D]
  • D. Sustainable technology: What role can creative solutions play in the effective use of resources, e.g. recycling, efficient design, etc.?

2.3 City and countryside

• • A. Mutual dependencies: Where is urban society dependent on rural society and vice versa? Is the relationship balanced and how does it affect the relationship between rural and urban areas?
    • • A1. Building relationships based on solidarity: How can a solidarity-based exchange of goods and labour be established between urban and rural areas?
      • A2. Strengthening local autonomy: How can urban areas be reorganized so that at least part of the necessary food and energy can be produced locally? To what extent is it necessary and sensible to expand infrastructure (e.g. schools, public transport, hospitals) in rural areas in order to reduce dependency on urban centers?
      • A3. The supply of the (urban) population with food and energy, among other things, is based on the industrialization of agriculture and livestock farming under capitalism. How can we put an end to these often miserable working conditions, extremely high environmental pollution and unbelievable cruelty to animals?
  • B. Organic agriculture: How can this be implemented on a large scale without excessive loss of harvest volumes, etc.? To what point do centralization and industrialization of agriculture remain necessary in order to supply the whole of society?
  • C. Restoring nature: In order to reduce the effects of man-made climate change and various other existentially threatening consequences of capitalist civilization and reverse them as far as possible, social revolution must also mean creating the basis for an ecological way of life.
    • • C1. Implementation: What will be the scope of the work on renaturalizing our environment and the planet? What role can (and cannot) new sustainable technologies play in this?
      • C2. Consequences: How much efficiency, how much comfort are we prepared to give up in the short to medium term? In the long term, this will improve our quality of life.

2.5 Building the free society & spreading the revolution

The tasks and difficulties described above will also require efforts and energy. Within a demand-orientated mode of production (see Long term), there will be a considerable reduction in the time required for socially relevant work. But a few steps are necessary to get there:

• • A. Creating the material foundations for a classless society: unequal material conditions are one of the most important foundations of capitalism. Fundamentally changing these is a precondition for building the new society.
    • • A1. Redistribute and collectivize: The final abolition of private property can be implemented collectively by society at this stage, where it is no longer upheld by capitalist laws. In order to counter the individual desire for enrichment, we need social structures that accompany and coordinate this process – these must be established starting here and now.[See 3.1 A and B and program Self-Governance and Self-Management 3.1 C]
      • A2. Abolish bullshit jobs: Some tasks can already be cancelled today without significant consequences. Other jobs, such as those dealing with office work, which is largely unnecessary in a classless society, or in banking, will become redundant during the transitional phase. Therefore, if the total working time required to maintain society is reduced, individual working time will also be reduced in the long term if there is solidarity in the division of labour.²³
      • A3. Equal calculation of working time not linked to money: In the long term, wage labour should be completely abolished, meaning that there will be no need to record working time. In a transitional phase, however, it may still be necessary to compensate work directly due to our socialization under capitalism. In this way, a balance can be created between what society produces and consumes. One way to implement this so that different types of work (including reproductive work) are valued and recognized equally and at the same time come closer to the abolition of money is to calculate the value of products in working hours and effort, instead of in money.²⁴
  • B. Developing a sense of responsibility towards society: after an overthrow of capitalist society, people will still carry the values of capitalism within them, so the development of a new relationship to work and consumption is particularly important here. Fulfilling everyone’s needs can only work if enough people contribute. To ensure that all necessary work is carried out out of responsibility towards society and individual interest [see program section Self-governance and self-management 1.1B. Self-determination of the individual], the new society must provide its members with everything they need and make them happy.
    • • B1. Awareness of social wealth: How can types of wealth other than the accumulation of capital (e.g. emotional, social, creative, organisational wealth) be better learned and brought back into the collective consciousness?
      • B2. Change in interpersonal relationships: What impact does it have on a community when competition, possessiveness, and consumerism no longer play a role?
      • B3. Changing our relationship to work: How can creativity, self-determination, responsibility and passion be put into practice from the very beginning in the reproduction and production process and in self-management structures?
      • B4. Developing a sense of solidarity: A life of self-realization and free cooperation, in which people decide autonomously instead of being mediated by external forces, requires a high degree of conflict skills, empathy, self-awareness and patience.
  • C. Territorial expansion of the revolution: It is unlikely that the entire planet will be liberated from capitalism in one single stroke because local conditions differ greatly. In addition, there is a high probability of conflict with forces that oppose the liberated society. It is therefore necessary for different revolutionary territories and struggles to support each other – materially, through the exchange of knowledge and experience and through joint self-defense.

3. What can we do in the short term?

3.1 Building counter-power

What structures can we ourselves, as the working class, build? What struggles do we want to engage in? [See introduction to our program, „What to do? Social revolution, dual-power, reforms„]

Labour struggle

• • A. Building independent syndicalist trade unions²⁵: People who work are best suited to represent their own interests.²⁶ As members of the syndicalist union, they should therefore organize autonomously and, in the medium term, enforce self-management in the workplace. A good example of independent syndicalist trade unions is the Freie Arbeiter*innen Union (FAU).
    • • A1. Confederation of various primary trade unions: A confederation can emphasize the common interests of different areas of work, make social connections visible and establish them. This can promote cross-sectoral organization, such as general strikes. It can also prevent workers‘ interests from being played off against one another. United we are stronger than on our own.
      • A2. Self-organized solidarity funds: Self-organized solidarity funds are managed by the primary trade unions in order to make industrial action possible. They can be used specifically for the following purposes:
        • • Strike fund to provide more financial security for workers who want to organize their own strikes.
          • Redistribution from people who can work to those who cannot work (any more) (similar to a self-organized pension or long-term care insurance).
          • Redistribution from people who earn more to those who earn less (although their work is at least equally relevant to society).
      • A3. The primary trade unions are the fighting arm of the working class, with which they can defend and assert their interests against the owning class and thus also change the societal structure of ownership.²⁷ They should have a social revolutionary and emancipatory focus.
      • A4. Primary trade unions as a seed of social revolution: The organisational form of these trade unions should be based on the organisational form of the social revolution. This way, members can already gain experience therein and learn important skills and values (e.g. self-organized and collaborative work, standing up for common interests, collective decision-making processes, mutual aid).
  • B. Self-organization at workplaces all the way to self-governance. This includes:
    • • B1. Building inter-personal connections in the workplace: This way, an awareness of the common interests as workers can develop. This includes reducing (in)formal power differences between employees based on different salaries or training. Where isolation and competitive thinking weaken our bonds, a strong sense of community and solidarity are key requirements for further organizing.
      • B2. Building self-governing structures in the workplace: These should assert the common interests of workers and create spaces for dialogue. Examples include: labour councils without the participation of management levels, which work with an imperative mandate from general assemblies at their respective companies. [See also 3.1 C]
      • B3. Thereby standing up for common interests in the workplace in an organized manner: Be it for better working conditions (e.g. occupational health and safety, equality issues²⁸, access, working hours, pay, etc.) or, if possible, immediate collectivization and self-management. [See 3.1 B5] The means of struggle for this are manifold – from walkouts or strikes to occupation and sabotage.
      • B4. Networking of organized workplaces with each other and with solidarity structures: e.g. via grassroots trade unions. [See 3.1 A2]
      • B5. Collectivizing and self-managing workplaces: in some labour struggles and conflicts, collectivizing the workplace/company is the only way to prevent closure and thus the loss of many livelihoods. In the process, important experiences of workers‘ self-management are made and new perspectives for work, distribution and coexistence unfold for society, based on concrete examples.
  • C. Works councils/Workers‘ councils: strategic potentials and threats. It can be of strategic importance to establish workers‘ councils or to work together with them, e.g. if they are close to the workforce and function as in 3.1 B2. However, they are usually trapped in a legal framework and therefore have limited leverage. They can also create new hierarchies and privileges in the workplace. Often, parts of the management are also represented in the workers‘ council, making it an instrument for pacification and creating a semblance of participation. They can therefore be completely opposed to revolutionary goals.²⁹
  • D. Strengthen and network collectivized enterprises as part of the movement: There is particular potential in collectivized farms or cooperatives that emerge from the needs of social movements and struggles and are in direct (material) exchange. [See 3.1 B5]³⁰ The strength can lie precisely in combining class struggle and the development of our own infrastructure, thus becoming a strategy of dual power.³¹) Collectivized workplaces that are detached from this, however, quickly become focused solely on their own survival and therefore run the risk of avoiding class conflicts and becoming reformist.³² In addition, they are often less accessible, as one requirement may be sufficient personal financial resources.
    • • D1. How can the imperatives of the capitalist market economy be overcome? Collective farms are often faced with the dilemma of either paying wages that are just as low as those of capitalist companies, or having to sell their products at such a high price that they are only accessible as a luxury to wealthy sections of society.
      • D2. Connecting social projects of solidarity economy that try to avoid capitalist logic with the broader struggle against capitalism: There is a long list of such projects, such as time banks / time based currency³³, solidarity agriculture, swap/giveaway networks³⁴, free shops, donation-based food banks, open source and creative commons tech projects such as FabLabs³⁵, repair cafés³⁶, etc.

3.2 Reforms

What reforms from the state and other institutions do we want to fight for in order to improve the conditions for the social revolution?

Wages, working hours and working conditions

• • A. Unconditional work permits for all: right to jobs with social insurance and an employment contract, regardless of e.g. residence status, as people are otherwise often forced into very precarious employment.
  • B. Equal pay for equal work: the inequality of wages and working conditions for FLINTAs compared to cis-men, or the inequalities in the east compared to the west of Germany, as well as the over-exploitation of seasonal workers and migrant, refugee, disabled and imprisoned people, should be ended immediately.
    • • B1. Recognition of reproductive work as work of equal value and corresponding wages and pension provision.
      • B2. Decent wages for all: Wages must be regularly adjusted to the real cost of living (or inflation)³⁷. This is possible because workers receive more of the profits they create with their labour power³⁸, and by equalizing wages (some people earn in a month what others earn in a year) and by reducing bullshit jobs.³⁹
  • C. Reduction in working hours without cutting wages⁴⁰: People should have more time to fulfill reproductive tasks, rest and contribute to society.
    • • C1. Enough time for good, sustainable work: if more time is scheduled for work steps and more staff are available, the work becomes more pleasant and thus the quality improves⁴¹, and there are also fewer accidents at work and fewer burnouts.
      • C2. Unrestricted right to part-time work in all occupational fields. Enables, among other things, a fairer division of housework and child rearing.
      • C3. A right to paid leave for all: whether (‘fake’) self-employed, freelancers, mini-jobbers, temporary workers or others.⁴²
  • D. Employers are responsible for the costs of making work possible: they must cover the costs of traveling to and eating at the workplace. Climate-friendly means should be favored (e.g. public transport in the city or bicycles for short commutes).
    • • D1. Traveling and break time are paid working time. This time is used for work and productivity and is not freely available.
      • D2. Work equipment must be paid for by the employer: e.g. work clothing, tools, office supplies, vehicles and repairs thereof.
  • E. A decent basic pension worth living on for all: People who are currently forced to work for minimum wage or do unpaid reproductive labour should not also be disadvantaged in old age or in the event of premature incapacity to work, for example by having to rely on basic income support [source]. An equal basic pension for all, linked to the real cost of living, and a fair retirement age should enable everyone to enjoy a fair retirement and prevent poverty in old age. Allowing people to retire earlier will, among other things, free up more jobs, giving young people better job opportunities. This also results in a better distribution of labour.
  • F. Right to cross-sectoral, political and wildcat strikes⁴³: It should be up to workers themselves to decide how they stand up for their interests, when and why they interrupt their work and with whom they declare their solidarity – not with any trade union leadership or a court. This includes:
    • • F1. Protection against firing for any form of strike. Political strikes, strikes by civil servants and so-called ‘non-unionized strikes’ are prohibited in Germany. The right to strike is a human right that must be fully available to all workers.⁴⁴⁴⁵
      • F2. Abolition of the peace obligation (Friedenspflicht) and social partnership (Sozialpartnerschaft)⁴⁶: Circumstances change and sometimes ensure that previous agreements become inadequate. The obligation to keep the peace prevents working conditions from constantly adapting to reality.⁴⁷ The social partnership pretends that the wage-earning class and the propertied class have the same interests, although they are actually fundamentally opposed to each other.[Quelle]

Questions of gender, disability and access⁴⁸

Gender continues to determine and structure social relations. The same is true of the common mentality extolling the virtue of performance and the idea of a supposedly productive, healthy body that conforms to the ‘norm’ (ableism⁴⁹). Therefore, discriminatory structures and clichés about gender, disability and chronic illness often determine which professions people take up and how jobs are organized.

• • G. Enabling job selection regardless of ascribed skills: Early on in life, we are taught to assign certain professions to specific social roles and to measure ourselves against supposed abilities. These factors shape what people think they are capable of. At the same time, jobs are not made accessible to everyone due to their design and standardized adaptation to certain bodies. This is why, for example, there are still more men in manual and technical professions and more FLINTA people in the education sector.
    • • G1. Designing workplaces and resources along the lines of gender equality: For example, there should be equally accessible changing rooms and toilets for all genders in manual labour workplaces and work attire should be provided in suitable sizes.
      • G2. Abolishing the so-called „second labour market“: This system divides people into two categories – either they are considered productive or a burden.This inhumane idea took on its cruelest form during the Third Reich through euthanasia, and is still prevalent today.⁵⁰⁵¹ It is however not an either/or, which (physical) possibilities people have. The main reason for so-called ‘workshops for disabled people’ is not to give people access to work and support them⁵², but to exclude them and obtain cheap labour. ‘Welfare organizations’ and companies that produce in these workshops make extremely large profits by systematically underpaying people there.⁵³
      • G3. Making different work models more accessible: People can and should decide for themselves⁵⁴ how high their stress limit is and within the scope in which they want to work.⁵⁵ The bureaucratic hurdles and humiliating processes that are currently necessary, e.g. to do part-time training or work in certain professions without shift work, must be completely dismantled.

International Production

• • H. Abolition of ‘outsourcing’: no outsourcing of production in Germany to ‘cheaper’ locations because the legal situation there allows greater exploitation of people and nature or in order to break local labour disputes.
  • I. Implementing the demands of workers in international production centers: the reason why many goods are so incredibly cheap is because they are produced in the most miserable conditions and for very low wages. Workers in so-called ‘low-wage countries’ are demanding fair treatment from companies, often headquartered in the West: safe work, higher wages, the right to break time, shorter working days, shorter working weeks, the right to organize, etc.⁵⁶⁵⁷ In addition to the moral reasons to realize their demands⁵⁸, the fates of people in different regions are also (materially) connected on different levels. As long as there are places where people are exploited, workers can be played off against each other, e.g. to break strikes or de-legitimize wage demands.

Redistribution

• • J. Financing the above-mentioned points through redistribution downwards: the money is there, with the rich and wealthy. One way of achieving this is to introduce an inheritance, wealth and excess profits tax.⁵⁹

Call for researchers

A number of the ideas described above have yet to be scientifically substantiated. Are you studying political science, economics or similar and looking for a topic for your final thesis? Or are you well versed in labour law or economics and would like to start an independent research project related to this or another part of the PS program? Please get in touch with us!

1. Are separated from the result of our labour and what happens with that result. [↩]
2. The work which keeps society running. This includes household work, carrying and raising children, caring for other people as well as emotional labour (such as conflict resolution). In today’s society, most of this labour is unpaid and shouldered by FLINTAs. Its function is to maintain the human labour force (for production work). [↩]
3. FLINTA: german acronym comprised of the words „Frauen (women), Lesben (lesbians), Intergeschlechtliche (intersex), Nicht-Binäre (non-binary), Trans-, and Non-Gender-People. [↩]
4. In theoretical works often referred to as the „proletariat“. [↩]
5. In theoretical works often referred to as the „bourgeoisie“. [↩]
6. These complex relations within the class and our advanced understanding of who is to be considered am member of the wage-dependent/working class is why in the German context, we are solely using the term „Lohnabhängige Klasse“ (wage-dependent-class). Since there is no equivalent in the English language, we will go ahead and use the more accepted term „working class“. When we speak of the working class, we mean what we portrayed the working class to be in this chapter. [↩]
7. When people are discriminated against because of their class origin or class position, this is classism. Classism is the consequence of a society based on class. Therefore, it cannot be solved only on the level of (cultural) discrimination. In order to abolish classism, class society must first and foremost be overcome. [↩]
8. Work. Kapitalismus, Wirtschaft, Widerstand; Crimethinc. 2017 [↩]
9. Work, Community, Politics, War; Prole.info [↩]
10. Global Working Class; Wild Cat 2015 [↩]
11. Bullshit jobs: jobs that provide no social benefit and are perceived as useless by the people who do them.
    In his article ‚On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant‘, David Graeber states that the 15-hour week predicted by John Maynard Keynes could actually already be implemented in some countries. Working hours have, however, not actually been reduced, the amount of bullshit jobs has just been increased. [↩]
12. taz article by Katharina Schipkowski: „Arbeitsbedingungen bei Amazon: Fatale Überwachung „https://taz.de/Arbeitsbedingungen-bei-Amazon/!5722884 [↩]
13. Alienation: Through the division of labour, which splits the production process up into different phases and locations, people are alienated from the product of their own labour and usually have no influence over what happens to it after completion. Alienation does not only occur in the production process, it runs through society as a whole. This results in a passive attitude towards politics, oppression, exploitation and even nature. [↩]
14. Murray Bookchin, Radical Agriculture, 1972 [↩]
15. Fundamental principles of communist production and distribution; Group of International Communists, (1930) [↩]
16. Efficiency: in today’s society, efficiency is usually equated with increasing profits, but it can also make work easier, for example. However, efficiency is not the only factor to be considered. Something can be incredibly efficient but have undesirable consequences: e.g. division of labour can be efficient but make work boring; processes of raw material extraction can be quick and easy but incredibly environmentally destructive; certain decision-making mechanisms can be efficient but alienating for many people. Efficiency should therefore always be in harmony with our core values. [↩]
17. „Consumers can organize themselves into consumers’ councils that occur within the communities. Thus individuals are organized in families, these into block and then neighborhood committees, and so on. These councils would be responsible for pointing out to the producers what they would like to consume, as we believe that it is need that must guide production, and not vice versa.“ Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro ‐ FARJ: Social Anarchism and Organisation (S. 26) [↩]
18. Demand is the economic translation of needs. But at what point do needs result in offers, i.e. at what point do needs become relevant? Example: Statistically, the number of LGBTIQ+ young people is increasing significantly. This is also increasing because there is more mediation and representation and therefore a growing need to take advantage of offers in this area. Even in a liberated society, new needs are constantly emerging – the question remains as to when it makes sense to provide services that do not meet a specific demand or need (e.g. counseling services, vaccinations). [↩]
19. There are already many ideas for this, such as the development of an app for work distribution that works in a similar way to dating apps: We can indicate our skills and interests and are suggested work, if we would like to do it we can ‘swipe right’ and accept it. [↩]
20. Gabriele Winker, Soziale Reproduktion in der Krise – Care Revolution als Perspektive [↩]
21. There are many examples for this, such as the Spanish Revolution and Civil War, Cuba, Burkina Faso, the Soviet Union and China [↩]
22. In a classless society, in which our relationship to consumption and the environment changes, fewer resources will also be needed. At the same time, we will not be able to completely dispense with some raw materials, at least not from one day to the next, as long as no serious effort is made to research sustainable alternatives. [↩]
23. It is possible that there will not yet be a reduction in the necessary working hours per person at the beginning of the transition phase. This is shown, for example, by experiences from the Spanish revolution in 1936 and more recent analyses from Great Britain. Like that of Angry Workers [↩]
24. The Democratic Working Time Calculation Initiative (Initiative Demokratischer Arbeitszeitrechnung) has even developed an app for this purpose. [↩]
25. syndicalist unions differ from today’s ‘normal’ unions in that the workers themselves are in charge of their labour struggles, rather than having representatives negotiate and make decisions for them. [↩]
26. The same applies to other areas, e.g. self-managed tenants‘ unions can best represent the interests of its participating tenants. See for instance the Mieter*innengewerkschaft Berlin (MGB) and  also our program „housing“ on housing and self-administration. [↩]
27. By ‘interest’ we don’t just mean economic interests, such as higher wages. Changes to the current economic system are a basis for any other change, so economic issues are inevitably linked to, for example, ecological or social issues. That is why we also support the struggle for the right to political and cross-sectoral strikes. [See 3.2 F.] [↩]
28. Lukas Krämer is an activist / labour activist / strike organizer.
    On his YouTube channel SakulTalks, he raises awareness about exploitation in sheltered workshops for disabled people (WfbM) and calls for the minimum wage in workshops until they are generally abolished.’ (Rebellion der Ballastexistenzen); https://www.youtube.com/c/SakulTalks [↩]
29. https://berlin.fau.org/strategie/betriebsraete [↩]
30. Some examples of this include: Vio.Me (Greece), StrikeBike (Germany), GKN (Italy), ITAS (Croatia) and the squatters‘ movement in Argentina.

    [↩]

31. Anarchists and Dual Power: Situation or Strategy?, Red and Black Notes (2022 [↩]
32. Christiaan Cornelissen,  – De weg naar de nieuwe maatschappij. Kap. Kleinburgerlijke invloeden buiten het parlement. Koöperatie, bevoorrechte werklieden. (1909) [↩]
33. ‘A time bank is a mostly local association for the provision of mutual services on the basis of a money-less barter economy. It is an organized form of mutual aid.’ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitbank [↩]
34. e.g. Sharing is Caring-Telegram-Groups [↩]
35. https://www.fablab-berlin.org/de [↩]
36. An overview of repair cafés in Berlin can be found here: https://repami.de/ Many of them are self-organized. [↩]
37. If necessary, e.g. due to a high inflation rate, wage increases must be implemented immediately. [↩]
38. Frederik Fuß, „Der Mythos der Lohn-Preis-Spirale – oder: warum alles teurer wird„ [↩]
39. David Graber, Bullshit Jobs: A theory, 2018 (Buch); On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs. A work rant, 2013 (Essay) [↩]
40. The greatest possible reduction in working hours with full wage compensation would be desirable, but a more in-depth analysis of current economic conditions would be needed to assess the extent to which this could currently be realized. An analysis, of course, that aims to reduce working hours without exploiting people in other regions more and includes, for example, the abolition of work that is not socially necessary and the use of sensible technologies. [↩]
41. This is particularly evident in the healthcare sector. Article (Die Zeit) ‘No time for humanity’ [↩]
42. Tobias Müller, Iris Becker, „Verified summer without teachers„, Katapult Magazine, 2022. ‘So that they don’t have to be paid during the holidays, temporary teachers are no longer employed during the summer holidays. They will be hired again in the next school year.’ [↩]
43. Wildcat strike: A strike that is not supported by a (legally recognized) trade union. In Germany, wildcat strikes are not legally protected, even though they should actually be permitted under the European Social Charter. Source: https://leipzig.fau.org/tuer-5-von-unserem-adventskalender-was-ist-ein-wilder-streik [↩]
44. The collective ‘Right to Strike’ is dedicated to this topic. Quote: ‘The German right to strike stands in the reactionary tradition of Hans Carl Nipperdey. He was a lawyer and distinguished himself during fascism as a commentator on fascist labour law. He was President of the Federal Labour Court from 1954 to 1963 and has shaped restrictive German labour law to this day.’ https://rechtaufstreik.noblogs.org [↩]
45. https://www.akweb.de/ausgaben/690/gewerkschaft-deutschland-streikrecht-gorillas-reform [↩]
46. Those are conditions which have been imposed on and accepted by the majority of the German trade unions. The social partnership is the co-operation between German major trade unions and the government. Of central importance in the social partnership is the regulation of labour relations through the conclusion of collective agreements. Friedenspflicht is the obligation to maintain peace is regulated in the Works Constitution Act. It means that the parties to a collective agreement (trade unions and employers) are obliged to refrain from taking industrial action (strikes, lockouts) at certain times. [↩]
47. Especially in times of inflation, it becomes clear how much it contradicts our class interests when we are not allowed to strike because of an old collective agreement. Despite small concessions such as the ‘inflation compensation premium’, it was mainly us wage earners who paid the bill for the wave of inflation in 2023. The propertied class passed the price increases on to us or even made extra profits, while the obligation to keep the peace left workers defenseless against such actions. [↩]
48. Kutzner, Edelgard (2017): Arbeit und Geschlecht. Die Geschlechterperspektive in der Auseinandersetzung mit Arbeit – aktuelle Fragen und Herausforderungen. Working Paper Forschungsförderung 030. Düsseldorf: Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. https://www.boeckler.de/de/faust-detail.htm?sync_id=HBS-006527 [↩]
49. Ableism is the structural discrimination of disabled and chronically ill people. [↩]
50. https://www.rebellion-der-ballastexistenzen.org/inhaltsnotiz-euthanasie-gewalt-mord [↩]
51. https://www.gedenkort-t4.eu/de [↩]
52. https://raul.de/leben-mit-behinderung/das-ding-mit-dem-tellerrand [↩]
53. https://www.angrycripples.com/Ein-Jahr-nach-Potsdam [↩]
54. https://dieneuenorm.de/arbeit/werkstaetten-allgemeiner-arbeitsmarkt [↩]
55. https://www.rebellion-der-ballastexistenzen.org/statement-zum-ver-di-streik [↩]
56. https://labourbehindthelabel.org [↩]
57. https://cleanclothes.org [↩]
58. ‘Not a single person,’ says Michael Bakunin, ’can recognize and realize his own humanity if he does not recognize it in others and help others to realize it. No man can liberate himself if he does not at the same time liberate all those around him.’ Malatesta, Errico, Anarchy, 1909 [↩]
59. „[I]t is … indisputable that the right [to inheritance], being an effect of previously established facts or events, becomes in turn the cause of future events, itself a very real, very powerful fact that must be overthrown if we wish to arrive at an order of things different from what now exists.“Michael Bakunin, On the Question of the right of inherritance, 1871 [↩]