In our society capitalism is king. We all play a role to feed into this cycle meant to keep our economy thriving; but for who? Depending on where you fall in the cycle reflects your social status. Capitalism is a system build by those who have the power to produce the needs of commodity fetishism in turn maintaining the class system.
When we are first introduced into the job market we all have to start off somewhere. For many that means a minimum/low paying wage job that alienates their employees until they themselves become commodities. The people who land these minimum wage jobs are often times those who do not have the skill set for anything higher or who are not of a high class status. When I was 18 this was the case for me.
Though I did get my start in the work force at a late age compared to some, I still experienced Capitalism’s enforcing hand to keep me in my place through exploitation and alienation many times. I worked at a famous cookie place in the city, we’ll call it Mrs. Plaines, was no exception. Like many places they start you off easy making it seem as though the harder you work the more rewards you will be met with. This is one of the many tricks Capitalism has up its sleeve. Alienation in the work place is a hard pill to swallow once it is unmasked. They start off by showing us the ropes and soon were oven mitts deep in baking. I soon came to realize that these delicious cookies we spend time baking and decorating were off limits to us. All this time spent away from my family, school work, and friends to make $8.25 an hour without the perks of cookies. Soon the owner of the shop came to trust me which led to me getting my own key to work open and close giving me a better chance to earn money decreasing my personal time.
Before I knew it I had taken on a manager’s position with the pay of a cookie sales man. Once they saw I could handle that they soon asked me to work at both store locations which included making cookie cake deliveries, transportation not included. Before it got to this point I realized, like many would in this situation, that I was being taken advantage of and if I was going to be taking on all these roles my pay should match the work I did. I thought many times about asking for a raise but remembered how it was that I got this job to begin with. I was the replacement of a girl who, according to the owners, wasn’t meeting up to the responsibility of the job. By asking for a raise I was risking the job I hated but needed. And if I asked to be given less responsibility any one of my coworkers would have been more than happy to step in on my behalf and take my hours leaving me with less than 15 a week. I had sunk to the level of the cookies; they had successfully made me an estranged laborer. Mrs. Plaines had figured out what capitalists would consider the perfect way to turn over a profit with minimal initial investment.
Unfortunately my case like isn’t unique. People who are starting off in the workforce and those who have been in it for decades know they are being exploited for their labor power but hold no real social status to change that without jeopardizing their job. We as a society see this happen every day but do nothing to create change the cycle. This is the very reason that the super structure maintains its economic base. Companies provide people of low status and economic power with jobs that allow them to make some money without allowing them to move up in the chain. These companies have the means to set the rules for the hours, the conditions, the work itself, and the pay without so much a blink from the government.
Capitalism is the way in which our society functions whether we are on the side that profits or the side that relinquishes labor power. It is the Super Structure that is the core to our economic standing and is what we have always known. In order for us to shift to an economic system that allows those who are hard workers to truly thrive we must begin by questioning what it is that we truly lose, if anything, by promoting fair pay.
When we are first introduced into the job market we all have to start off somewhere. For many that means a minimum/low paying wage job that alienates their employees until they themselves become commodities. The people who land these minimum wage jobs are often times those who do not have the skill set for anything higher or who are not of a high class status. When I was 18 this was the case for me.
Though I did get my start in the work force at a late age compared to some, I still experienced Capitalism’s enforcing hand to keep me in my place through exploitation and alienation many times. I worked at a famous cookie place in the city, we’ll call it Mrs. Plaines, was no exception. Like many places they start you off easy making it seem as though the harder you work the more rewards you will be met with. This is one of the many tricks Capitalism has up its sleeve. Alienation in the work place is a hard pill to swallow once it is unmasked. They start off by showing us the ropes and soon were oven mitts deep in baking. I soon came to realize that these delicious cookies we spend time baking and decorating were off limits to us. All this time spent away from my family, school work, and friends to make $8.25 an hour without the perks of cookies. Soon the owner of the shop came to trust me which led to me getting my own key to work open and close giving me a better chance to earn money decreasing my personal time.
Before I knew it I had taken on a manager’s position with the pay of a cookie sales man. Once they saw I could handle that they soon asked me to work at both store locations which included making cookie cake deliveries, transportation not included. Before it got to this point I realized, like many would in this situation, that I was being taken advantage of and if I was going to be taking on all these roles my pay should match the work I did. I thought many times about asking for a raise but remembered how it was that I got this job to begin with. I was the replacement of a girl who, according to the owners, wasn’t meeting up to the responsibility of the job. By asking for a raise I was risking the job I hated but needed. And if I asked to be given less responsibility any one of my coworkers would have been more than happy to step in on my behalf and take my hours leaving me with less than 15 a week. I had sunk to the level of the cookies; they had successfully made me an estranged laborer. Mrs. Plaines had figured out what capitalists would consider the perfect way to turn over a profit with minimal initial investment.
Unfortunately my case like isn’t unique. People who are starting off in the workforce and those who have been in it for decades know they are being exploited for their labor power but hold no real social status to change that without jeopardizing their job. We as a society see this happen every day but do nothing to create change the cycle. This is the very reason that the super structure maintains its economic base. Companies provide people of low status and economic power with jobs that allow them to make some money without allowing them to move up in the chain. These companies have the means to set the rules for the hours, the conditions, the work itself, and the pay without so much a blink from the government.
Capitalism is the way in which our society functions whether we are on the side that profits or the side that relinquishes labor power. It is the Super Structure that is the core to our economic standing and is what we have always known. In order for us to shift to an economic system that allows those who are hard workers to truly thrive we must begin by questioning what it is that we truly lose, if anything, by promoting fair pay.