[MD] How are people controlled?

[David M]

Hi Arlo

You said: I no more prefer my
> life to be based on what Washington or Franklin "said" than on what Yahweh 
> or
> Jesus "said". We take the Good, scrap the bad, and move forward.
>

Made me think about control. None of us want to be controlled. We want to 
make
choices for ourselves. But how much choice do we have? Do we know what 
choices
are available? Take work. Most of us start out with only having our labour 
to sell.
We take ourselves off to the labour market and see what there is to offer.
We find an employer, offering some work we think we can do, we sign some
contract, if there is anything in the contract we don't like we usually 
can't get it changed.
Off to work we go, and find that the way the work is to be done is all set 
out for us,
that there is a command structure to the form of organisation.

All very lacking in choice. Could we imagine better forms of organisation 
that
were more flexible and recognising of the freedom of the individual? Should 
we
not have to co-operatively negotiate every step in the process. What hours 
you work,
where you work, how you do your work, what work is imprtant and needs doing, 
etc?
Do most of our current social forms reflect force, control and bribery 
rather than choice?

David M