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I don't think it's revisionism. I think it's an accurate description of the hype that surrounded the gig economy. That's what everyone used to parrot in defense

I don't think it's revisionism. I think it's an accurate description of the hype that surrounded the gig economy. That's what everyone used to parrot in defense of borderline illegal "disruption" by Uber and such. To quote Ronald Wright, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." The gig economy is just a new way of exploiting that mindset.

icebraining 7y ago
I don't agree. Go read the news articles from 2009-2011. The "gig economy" was almost always quite descriptive, about the class of precarious workers forced by the recession to take up piece-meal worker. Only a few CEOs and sycophants waxed poetically about it, and even they stressed that it was mostly a way to make extra cash, not a job replacement.
jressey 7y ago
The quotation gives "The Gig Economy" active voice. The author is saying those who enacted the economic model had the intention of creating those well paying jobs. They obviously never had any intention like that. That statement is revisionist.
- basch 7y ago
  The American Dream promised = the american dream was a shared belief and mindset. Its not so much saying the gig economy was an actor with its own agency, there is an implication that the gig economy was a shared perspective of hope.
  - nostrademons 7y ago
    I never observed that shared perspective of hope in Uber drivers I rode with, though. It was always a means to an end, not the means to the end. If people thought they were going to end up with a better life, it was because they were finishing their master's degree, or running a software business, or just wanted to stay in the U.S. while their kids got acculturated and educated. Uber was a way to rack up some extra spending money in the meantime. Nobody I've met was under any illusions about their ability to get rich off Uber, except maybe the Uber employees with stock options.
    - basch 7y ago
      I do think the promise was "easy money on your own time, be your own boss." Something you could do to fill the cracks, without getting a second job. Every uber driver ive ever talked to about it says one of the main reasons they do it is being able to choose when to work.
malandrew 7y ago
Conversely, many socialists also don't see themselves as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarassed bolshevik central planners. Too many people think they know what is best for other people, but they often have no skin in the game and suffer no consequences if the choices they make for others turn out to be wrong.

icebraining 7y ago

I don't agree. Go read the news articles from 2009-2011. The "gig economy" was almost always quite descriptive, about the class of precarious workers forced by the recession to take up piece-meal worker. Only a few CEOs and sycophants waxed poetically about it, and even they stressed that it was mostly a way to make extra cash, not a job replacement.

jressey 7y ago

The quotation gives "The Gig Economy" active voice. The author is saying those who enacted the economic model had the intention of creating those well paying jobs. They obviously never had any intention like that. That statement is revisionist.

basch 7y ago
The American Dream promised = the american dream was a shared belief and mindset. Its not so much saying the gig economy was an actor with its own agency, there is an implication that the gig economy was a shared perspective of hope.
- nostrademons 7y ago
  I never observed that shared perspective of hope in Uber drivers I rode with, though. It was always a means to an end, not the means to the end. If people thought they were going to end up with a better life, it was because they were finishing their master's degree, or running a software business, or just wanted to stay in the U.S. while their kids got acculturated and educated. Uber was a way to rack up some extra spending money in the meantime. Nobody I've met was under any illusions about their ability to get rich off Uber, except maybe the Uber employees with stock options.
  - basch 7y ago
    I do think the promise was "easy money on your own time, be your own boss." Something you could do to fill the cracks, without getting a second job. Every uber driver ive ever talked to about it says one of the main reasons they do it is being able to choose when to work.

malandrew 7y ago

Conversely, many socialists also don't see themselves as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarassed bolshevik central planners. Too many people think they know what is best for other people, but they often have no skin in the game and suffer no consequences if the choices they make for others turn out to be wrong.