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Teachers, miners, writers, factory workers, grocers and truckers have gone on strike. How is software development any different? Software developers aren't pol
by beedeebeedee 3y ago
Teachers, miners, writers, factory workers, grocers and truckers have gone on strike. How is software development any different?
Software developers aren't police, doctors or nurses. There is no safety argument.
I've had a few conversations with people who have said the same thing, and the conclusion has been that they don't want to strike because they do not want to lose their jobs, and because culturally they view themselves differently from all of those other people. That sounds cowardly to me- especially when folks like you advocate covert disobedience (i.e., sabotage) instead of overt disobedience like striking.
EDIT: I see in a sibling comment that you say software systems can keep running without software developers, and that is why you judge them to be different. In my experience that is only partly true, but in combination with the push for code automation, I can understand the fear that if software developers strike, they will be replaced by AI. I actually think that is more reason to strike and strike now. It is up to software developers to create those job replacing AI systems. Like you said, software developers lack class consciousness- that is more the reason to raise consciousness now- and the best way is through overt action.