to the LEFT

Many of you may have noticed that I have been absent from the blog and from public political discourse. I have not even posted a piece to ‘to the LEFT’ in weeks. My friends and family can tell you, that is not like me.

As many of you may know, my family and I recently lost our 16-year-old Jack Russell, Chelsea. To say she was the sweetest dog and truly one of a kind would be an understatement, as I’m sure most pet owners could say. I actually only knew her for a relatively short time, but I was honored by the time that I was given with her and the bond we shared. My fellow pet owners can attest that losing a pet is very difficult. The weeks leading up to her last moments were practically unbearable, caring for and trying to make her as comfortable as possible. When the unthinkable happens, an emptiness takes over. Some may not be able to understand just how special a pet’s love can be, but it is a special bond.

The death of Chelsea, and the weeks thereafter, proved to be very difficult. Along with the death of Chelsea came some other stressful news that I needed to process. To refocus my mind, I threw myself into school. As someone that works full time and goes to school, time management is crucial. At times it can be difficult to juggle going to work, doing schoolwork, and giving your personal life the attention that it deserves – not to mention throwing a blog into the mix.

In the time that I stepped back to grieve for Chelsea I realized the importance of self-care and the priorities of life. The world can be a tough place, especially the world of politics, and sometimes we need to honor our emotional state and just hit the pause button to refocus.

This experience also got me thinking about the current state of American work habits. It has long been shown that Americans are some of the most overworked workers in the world, with the Japanese at the top of the list right along with us. The International Labor Organization says that 85% of American males work more than 40 hours a week, with females coming in at 67%. This is a stunning 137 hours more than Japan – which is so overworked that they have a word for death by overworking, karoshi – and between 100 to 400 more hours than our friends in Europe. Along with this, the United States is the only industrialized nation that does not have federally mandated parental leave, paid sick leave, or paid vacation time.

Coupled with all of this is the fact that the average American workers productivity has increased nearly 400% since 1950. This is a stunning number that should be reflected in average worker salaries, correct? Wrong, wages have stagnated. The profits from that increased productivity is going somewhere, it’s just not in the pockets of average working Americans.

So why is this the case? It’s quite simple actually. In the U.S. there are fewer worker protections compared to the rest of our industrialized nations. Employers have more power and can fire or ‘layoff’ much more easily. This creates a hyper-paranoid situation where workers put in more hours and try to relentlessly impress the boss. The decline in unions also has a direct correlation to this phenomenon in the United States, and more specifically the word ‘decline’ is inaccurate. Instead, unions in this country were intentionally and systematically decimated by the capitalist business class. Sadly, the New Democrats of the 80s and 90s aided in this decimation. In some countries that also do not have high union membership, although still higher than us, they at least have legally mandated restrictions on business power that we do not have.

Capitalism itself is a problem. Capitalism and modern consumer culture values money and the acquisition of money and more ‘things’ as the most important aspect of life, in an almost dogmatic and religious sense. Capitalism has become our new religion, money our new god, and the ‘infallible’ market our holy scriptures. Humans have been reduced to nothing more than consumers, bombarded with constant advertising. While humans have always had to ‘work’ to acquire things to live, our modern predicament is vastly different from anything our species has been a part of in the past. American society is simply not structured to facilitate self-care, whether mentally or physically.

Most people, capitalists and socialists alike, agree that human labor is one of the most important, if not the most important, classification of capital in any market system. As a leftist, I, of course, believe that we need stronger protections for workers and limits on the encroaching aspects of business power. Capitalists should also be worried about the forces of the market and industry on the working class. It only makes sense. Without workers, there is no market. Without a market, there is no capitalism. The current model of a race to the bottom for wages and benefits is simply unsustainable. Just like in the early years of the Industrial Revolution, capitalism faced a crisis of sustainability and morality. The capitalist class and the markets were forced to reform and change. Today, too, the market faces similar challenges. The question is, will the system make the necessary changes to alleviate struggle and suffering? If capitalists are smart, they will indeed give into certain demands of the working class or face the prospect of alternatives outside of the capitalist system, which they definitely do not want. Another question worth asking is, can the system be saved? Hell, should it be saved?

Everyone deserves the ability to hit PAUSE, to reset their mental or physical state. For my mental sabbatical I would like to thank my friends and family that are always there for me. Always there to lend a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, or to hand a glass of Pinot Noir. I need to also thank a special poet in the woods for helping me tap back into my creative spirit. I have had my PAUSE, but now I am ready to get back in the fight. There are too many important issues facing our country and our world to continue to sit back and watch. We have an important election looming ahead, and a bumbling fool at the helm of the ship. Time to hit PLAY…

Dale Seufert-Navarro