The sharp distinction between volunteer labor and labor for wages in our society is symptomatic of the baseline injustice in many workplaces. I believe this is a vestige of sexism in part. Women's domestic work, historically unpaid, was seen as unskilled, despite the great skills it required. This was part of the subjugation of women by men, who elevated their role as wage earners in order to rule society and have their own privileges in and out of the home.
We are moving away from patriarchy in the U.S.. With this, the sharp lines between labor for wages and other forms of valuable social labor are blurring somewhat. Unfortunately, capitalist exploiters are using this process to extract free labor from intelligent and talented people who are forced to compete with each other in a job-poor economy. Educated young people from privileged backgrounds are able to pay for internships in lucrative fields of endeavor, while equally talented and less affluent candidates are forced to apply for jobs unworthy of their abilities.
Corporations, motivated by profits, not social good, are downsizing by using technology to eliminate the need for human labor. They have left the job of retraining redundant employees to government, while knee-capping government by buying political action in Washington to gut corporate tax policy and increase corporate welfare. The response of the corporatist to the laid-off workers is "Become entrepreneurs!" This has the hollow, cynical ring of Marie Antoinette's quip about cake in lieu of bread. It can be translated as : Go exploit others as we've exploited you.
The difference between a materialist and a humanist in the work place is simple. The materialist works at whatever it takes to finance his pleasure or greed. The humanist works to earn an ethical living and to contribute to human society with the fruits of his/her labor. In a materialist society, where much of what is produced is not socially valuable or ethically based, many humanists turn to volunteer labor to satisfy their desire to improve society with their labor.
The current collapse of oil's domination and perversion of the world economy may well be a breakthrough in this paradigm. There is an opportunity for humanists to explore many more options for their talents. The green economy may well become a largely humanist labor and entrepreneurial movement. However, the powers of materialistic capitalism with fight for the greater part of the green economy or will try to sabotage its development altogether.
Organized labor in America has been lacking in the promotion green development. It has aligned itself with the oil economy. It has aligned itself with Wall Street and corrupted government. It has generally betrayed its mission to bring justice and human values to the work place.
Embracing the daily work of humanist idealism and practice in any field is always challenging, often isolating but very rewarding. By focusing on the quality of his/her labor and its value to society, the humanist inevitably shines as a valued member of any work force. While the path of the humanist may not lead to exorbitant profits, it does lead to a great wealth of personal growth and happiness.
