4 ms·

> Any time you have an industry where the number of people who want to do the work vastly outstrips demand and where there are gatekeepers, you are going to get

> Any time you have an industry where the number of people who want to do the work vastly outstrips demand and where there are gatekeepers, you are going to get a culture of abuse. You've perfectly described capitalism where every capitalist state consciously constrains the number of available jobs, maintaining a stable unemployment % among the populace. Once they've done that, people are always fighting each other and compromising their dignity and morals - some to get ahead, some to simply stay afloat and have a family.

tabtab 6y ago
I would qualify this by saying many want to be in specific entertainment industries for the (potential) glamor and fame, and will sacrifice a lot to reach that goal. Many may have more practical alternatives, but are driven by a goal. This is the land of opportunity, and many dream of taking a shot at the big-time while still young and attractive. That window of time closes fast. The idea of possibly being the next Elvis or Madonna if you accept being boinked by a pig with money is hard to turn down for many. One of the reasons the game dev industry has more abuse (mostly non-sexual) than other software endeavors is because games are seen as more fun or cool to work on, rather than say a sales proposal tracking CRUD system. (I'm happy making sales proposal tracking systems myself, although I admit I have dabbled in the pop music writing industry, and still dabble in neo-renascence tunes.) My daughter found the clothing fashion industry is similar: high pressure because many want the job of designer and scrape and claw to get it. She changed careers after some nasty office skirmishes among competitors.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
jmoss20 6y ago
As far as I understand, the first claim: > [capitalist states] consciously constrains the number of available jobs, maintaining a stable unemployment % among the populace. is true, and not particularly controversial. Too little unemployment is assumed (true or not) to lead to inflation and inefficiency. (Although, I'm not sure the second claim follows. If unemployment is reduced by, say, drastically lowering the minimum wage, I don't see why things would look any different. Unemployment isn't the problem, here anyway.)
andrepd 6y ago
You're getting downvoted but you're right. It makes good business sense to have what Marx called a "reserve army of labour", a percentage of unemployed people such that there is always more demand for jobs than there is supply, ensuring wages and labour conditions get pushed down.

tabtab 6y ago

I would qualify this by saying many want to be in specific entertainment industries for the (potential) glamor and fame, and will sacrifice a lot to reach that goal. Many may have more practical alternatives, but are driven by a goal. This is the land of opportunity, and many dream of taking a shot at the big-time while still young and attractive. That window of time closes fast. The idea of possibly being the next Elvis or Madonna if you accept being boinked by a pig with money is hard to turn down for many. One of the reasons the game dev industry has more abuse (mostly non-sexual) than other software endeavors is because games are seen as more fun or cool to work on, rather than say a sales proposal tracking CRUD system. (I'm happy making sales proposal tracking systems myself, although I admit I have dabbled in the pop music writing industry, and still dabble in neo-renascence tunes.) My daughter found the clothing fashion industry is similar: high pressure because many want the job of designer and scrape and claw to get it. She changed careers after some nasty office skirmishes among competitors.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

jmoss20 6y ago

As far as I understand, the first claim: > [capitalist states] consciously constrains the number of available jobs, maintaining a stable unemployment % among the populace. is true, and not particularly controversial. Too little unemployment is assumed (true or not) to lead to inflation and inefficiency. (Although, I'm not sure the second claim follows. If unemployment is reduced by, say, drastically lowering the minimum wage, I don't see why things would look any different. Unemployment isn't the problem, here anyway.)

andrepd 6y ago

You're getting downvoted but you're right. It makes good business sense to have what Marx called a "reserve army of labour", a percentage of unemployed people such that there is always more demand for jobs than there is supply, ensuring wages and labour conditions get pushed down.