I don't hate my job. I also don't care for capitalism.
Neither of these are why I don't like Mondays.
I work in IT support, and Mondays are always one of the busiest days of the week.
It's like y'all just save up all your IT problems to submit them as critical issues at 8AM on Monday because you like to watch me suffer. If your shit breaks on a Sunday or Friday, or whatever, please, for the love of God, don't wait until Monday to put in a ticket.
Which I mean could’ve been a valid thing to say. If you felt your feudal lord and was fair and all that. Ofc the problem is the fuck all you could do if they weren’t
But i also hate mondays so bad i have gone out of my way to find a work structure allowing me to skip mondays every week.
Now Tuesday is my monday and while i dont hate Tuesday itself and i no longer hate the day that used to be monday i do hate the Monday part of my Tuesday because capitalism is still dictating my work hours and i hate it.
I can only speak for myself that i am very motivated to work for the sake of growing humanity as long as my primary needs are unconditionally met.
The work week would be gone for me and personal/work projects would blend more into one.
There will be weeks where i am working around the clock to Finnish a project because i am passionate about them. And weeks where i just lay in bed because i feel off.
Each according to their needs and abilities. The best coworker is a motivated and mentally healthy one.
If capitalism is abolished, we're most likely going to be forced back to Feudalism. Mondays in Feudalism last 12+ hours and the work week continues until Saturday night.
Can someone educate me on this one? I understand people hate their jobs and would rather be doing something else, and maybe under socialism there are more opportunities to do stuff you enjoy, but there still is work to be done. Would the work not still have start times and end times throughout the week?
Like, ditch the shitty corporate job and make art or something fulfilling. But you'll still have to go to work on Monday? (Okay, maybe art is a bad example because that would be more contract based and you'd work as needed, but the question still stands)
Bakunin had said that everyone would be obliged to do manual work under socialism(I think I read that in Statism and Anarchy, don't quote me on it, but it makes sense, someone has to do that, might as well all of us contribute), which is fair.
Also you can never get rid of logistics and factory related work imo, because concentrating the production means and scaling up factories is proven to be overwhelmingly more efficient in producing goods than producing them locally and independently. Producing flour in a big factory reduces the manual labour hours by tens and hundreds of times. So as I see it, these jobs will still be there.
The fundamental difference would be that people would actually work these jobs for like 2-3 hours every couple of days or so. This is because we have the capacity to cover everyone's needs several times over, that's how immensely huge our economy is. The west has to scale down a lot the economy cause we are producing way too much, that's how much we produce. We would be able to cover our needs with so much less work than now.
Since this meme mentions anarchism, I’ll take an anarcho-communist perspective. This is obviously an oversimplified idealistic view. There is so much variance in ideas for organisation, distribution, and association of labour in anarcho communist societies you could fill libraries with all the different sub movements.
A few reasons why in an anarcho-communist society, the concept of “hating Mondays” might not really apply at nearly the same extent it does in current capitalistic society:
Work life balance. the abolishment of capitalist structures, the focus would shift from profit to community well-being. Work would be more about contributing to the community rather than fulfilling corporate demands, leading to a more balanced and fulfilling daily routine.
Flexible Schedules. Anarcho-communism encourages self-management and collective decision-making, allowing people to create their own schedules. If Mondays are tough for someone, they could adjust their week to suit their needs without the rigid 9-to-5 grind.
Meaningful Work. The emphasis would be on work that is fulfilling and meaningful, rather than merely a means to survive. If people enjoy what they do and see its value in their community, the dread of returning to work on a Monday would likely diminish.
Community Support: In an anarcho-communist framework, community bonds would be strong. People would likely have better support systems, making transitions back to work easier and more enjoyable.
Lack of Hierarchical Pressure: Without hierarchical pressures and corporate stressors, the anxiety and negativity often associated with the start of the workweek would be significantly reduced. People would feel empowered to engage in their labor voluntarily and collaboratively.
So, instead of dreading Mondays, people might look forward to contributing to their communities in ways that align with their passions and values!
In a truly anarchist society with voluntary free association, you could even change your “commune” or move to somewhere that aligns more with your values.
Ah that makes sense! The anal nitpicky part of me would still say, "well, the feeling of Mondays would still be there in some cases." But I understand the jist. Thanks!
When someone profits from your labor, it's in their interests to make sure that you labor as much as possible.
In a politically and economically egalitarian society, not only do you need to work fewer hours to meet your basic needs, but society as a whole will be much more interested in "the asymptotic abolition of work", through investment in automation technology and other means.
Under capitalism there is significant conflict over automation (see the current discourse over AI, for example), since the benefits go primarily to the capitalists, who are willing to let everyone else starve if they can get away with it.
In a politically and economically egalitarian society
So, in a fantasy? It's nice in theory, but such a society has never existed, and probably will never exist until humans are no longer recognizable as humans.
Capitalism and authoritarian Marxist-Leninist states are not the only alternatives. There are other alternatives like Georgist economic democracy. In such a system, everyone would be either individually or jointly self-employed while receiving their share of the value derived from natural resources
"But hey guys, there's this other kind of social order that was also bad!"
I mean, yes? Maybe we should try to build a society that minimizes the amount of work that needs to be done. In order to do that, we have to recognize that capitalists would fight against our efforts, because they profit off of our labor.
And yes, the rulers of a USSR-style authoritarian socialist society would also fight against that kind of change, so maybe let's not go that route.
Also, it's the job you hate, not the economic system. People living in a feudal society also hated Mondays, the difference being that they hated Saturdays too because they worked 6 days a week, 12+ hours a day. They even worked on Sundays, but it was just a lighter form of work -- mending garments instead of plowing fields.
Until the Replicator makes the world post-scarcity, some work is going to be inevitable, so there will be days of working, and days of no work. The first day back after a break will always be annoying.
In my line of work, there is no such thing as a weekend or "working hours". People that are retired are also in a similar situation where technically there is no difference between a weekday and weekend.
The problem is that others have decided that Saturday and Sunday are days of rest. The genesis of this being religion. So, whether you work or not, Saturdays and Sundays are significantly quieter. In my case, they are much more peaceful and productive. Come Monday, other people's bullshit (especially the one left unattended for two days) floods my inbox and blows up my phone.
TL;DR: Mondays suck anyway, thanks to religion. (/s...but just a little)