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by dragonwriter 3944 days ago
> You can make the same argument against minimum wage, or any other abusive contracts (payday/predatory loans).

The people who make the argument against labor laws like the ones at issue with Uber often do make the same argument against minimum wage laws, or other laws restricting "abusive" contracts.
1 comments
masterleep 3944 days ago
Indeed they do, and they are right to do so.
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hwstar 3944 days ago
Employers have too much power in the asymmetrical employer/employee relationship. In order to counteract this and level the playing field, there must be minimum labor standards enforced by the state.

I know that a lot of right-leaning Americans think that government should stay out of private contracts, but they'd be dead wrong. If the employee was just as powerful as the employer, then the situation would be different.

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stvswn 3944 days ago
I think you're giving yourself the ability to reason along the spectrum, but assuming that more libertarian leaning people are incapable of admitting that some standards are OK. Of course some standards are OK, it's these standards that we object to. Workers need to be protected from unsafe working conditions, sure. Minimum standards aside, there's no reason to cast Uber vs. drivers as a Marxist class struggle when the Uber drivers themselves seem to be satisfied with the arrangement.
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dragonwriter 3944 days ago
> Minimum standards aside, there's no reason to cast Uber vs. drivers as a Marxist class struggle when the Uber drivers themselves seem to be satisfied with the arrangement.

(1) The existence of the lawsuit means that the generalization serving as the explicit premise here is incorrect.

(2) Without defending Marxist class struggle as a valid or correct framework for addressing reality, the idea that the drivers seem generally satisfied with the arrangement is relevant to whether characterizing it as a Marxist class struggle is necessary may reveal a poor understanding of the entire idea of Marxist class struggle and particularly the role of class consciousness within such a struggle.

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toomuchtodo 3944 days ago
Conversely, people should hold a pitchfork to the necks of corporations, to keep them in check from exploiting labor.

People are more important than you're business model.

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