October 21, 2004
Motivation is a Technology
While desire operates broadly,
motivation is a technology
and, like any technology,
it only operates well
within narrow paramaters
-------------
Motivation serves
as a kind of surrogate
for desire
a toe-hold
"an entrance for desire
into the medium of reality" mol tse
Motivation links the process
of production
to its necessary inputs.
--------------
I call it a technology
because it is an artifice
the product of a decision
In a natural process,
the inputs of production come
before the outputs,
(e.g. Food is consumed for energy, which
can be used to obtain more food.)
Motivation gives consistency
to the process of
production by linking forward
to future inputs, now seen as "rewards."
(wages, of course, being capital's
last word on rewards)
THIS ARTIFICE IS NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF
when time and conditions are such that
a "full reckoning" is necessary
and possible,
we have not
"given up," "sold out," or betrayed our desires
by using surrogates,
no matter how poor those surrogates
may be.
I used to get myself out of bed every day with
the promise of a cup of coffee.
At difficult times in the cart,
coffee is not enough of an incentive,
I started buying a cappuccino.
Is this the slippery slope, Joe?
Posted by Sam at October 21, 2004 12:22 PM
there's that line in capital
about man unlike the bee
raising his hive in his mind first
no matter how inferior
the result is in perfection
when compared
to the work of the mindless bee
or something like that
Posted by: pink at October 21, 2004 01:24 PM
call it purpose
and now we have
not facts but
folly to blame
Posted by: meat me at October 21, 2004 01:26 PM
can we attach coherence
to the notion
that some work
can be distinguished from other work
by the results?
are the results themselves
the reward
or only a means to a reward ?
a meal cooked as against a paycheck earned
seems clearly different
but if one exstends the view point
to encompass the whole process
the important distinction is between surplus producers and non surplus producers
surplus producers
produce more then they comnsume
the proprietoras surplus producer
in this sense
must both work and save
the wageling only need work
the profit his boss
has stealth extracted
is the wagelings savings
indeed its
saving by other means
then volition (narrow savings)
or taxes ( forced savings)
Posted by: pink at October 21, 2004 01:40 PM
repost from _one year in_:
" the cart is demanding, and
at a certain point,
immanent awareness of the
big picture value of the proceedings
becomes impossible,
and demands certain surrogates."
I'm trying to look at
wages as a surrogate for
collective control of property
and figure out
what allows them to function,
and where this function fails.
//Here are some notes//
the process of labor
is massively collectivized
and returning to a
wageling a "fair share"
is no simple calculation
there is some necessary
re-investment
into collective means
of production, on the one hand,
(and an ability to
further invest in innovation)
but the means
of controlling this
directly by the collective don't exist.
Same question:
is the party "directly"
controlled by the people?
"the party is a machine
that does something for you" mol tse
***did you look at
_EVEN A GUERILLA BAND MUST MARCH_?
I'm trying to think about the conditions
under which the motive force
of revolution can be enough
to "pull" members together...***
Posted by: sam at October 21, 2004 05:53 PM
BUILD THE PARTY AND THE UNIONS
PUT MAXO HARD
FULL TIME
KLASS WRANGLERS
AND PRO-REV GHOULS
IN PLACE
LET THE CLASS CONTRADICTIONS BOIL UP THE DESIRE FOR CHANGE SOME
AND THEN MOTIVATION FLASHES
THE "DO THIS" SIGN
BURSTS ALIVE
IN 100 MILLION HEADS
REVS PROVIDE
A STRUCTURED MEANS TO AN END
AND WE
GOT TO HAVE ONE OF DEM
Posted by: PINKY at October 26, 2004 09:37 AM
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