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Re Paul Z's [OPE-L:2628]:
> >* What about, since you mentioned time, the time clock? Note the quote
> >that you give above.
> I don't understand. The worker very much knows from WHOM his or her work
> life is dictated and it is NOT the clock. It is the capitalist who PUT
> the clock on the wall and control worker lives with it (and who cheat
> workers in various ways around a clock, including the methods detailed by
> Marx in production of absolute surplus value).
The reference was to your (hypothetical) quote in [2625]: "Damn it; why
doesn't that clock move?". Surely, cursing a clock and believing that
there is conspiracy on the part of the clock are examples of commodity
fetishism.
(This reminds me of a humorous scene from the old movie "Blue Collar" with
Richard Pryor when a forklift driver after repeatedly being "robbed" by a
soda machine, decides to take his revenge on the machine by smashing his
fork lift into the soda machine).
Another instance, recalling that not all factories have the same physical
characteristics, is in the marine shipping industry. As any sailor knows
a boat or a ship is a "she" which has certain personality attributes, both
positive and negative. For example, "she" might be a "forgiving" ship or a
"widow-maker". Indeed, it is not uncommon for professional mariners to
have a affection for their ship and to talk to "her".
In solidarity, Jerry
PS: I must admit that I also suffer from commodity fetishism and have been
known to talk to my boat "Avatara". Furthermore, when I lost my previous
boat, "Bon Copain" (see [OPE-L:69] from August, 98), I felt grief as if I
lost a close friend or relative.
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