this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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I get that the worker is not the only reason the sprocket exists. I understand that he uses someone's else alloy-pouring lava-pitcher to pour molten steel into a sprocket cast someone else owns. Whoever owns those things and consented / instructed for them to be used in the above manner shares responsibility (might even be more responsible) for the creation of that sprocket. But the sprocket still doesn't exist until the worker poured the alloy.
The fact that the worker then didn't create a sprocket, or produce a sprocket, or cause a sprocket to exist -- is an alienating step only found in certain kinds of businesses. (And those are the only kinds of businesses anti-capitalists dislike).
For example, a worker can walk into a worker co-op, pour the same kind of alloy heated in the same kind of furnace into a cast that is shaped the exact same, but the worker at this co-op (unlike the worker for the private company) has now created a sprocket.
I'm pretty sure you would agree, right? Because he co-owns the company and he had a democratic voice in the acquisition of the company's tools? He is responsible for all of the things that caused that sprocket to be created. No other factors were more involved than the worker-owner's contributions and decisions.
So even though the co-op worker did the exact same thing using the exact same kinds of machinery as the private company worker, would you agree that the sprocket (which only existed after he poured the alloy) was a direct consequence of the co-op worker's actions? (Whereas it was not a direct consequence of the private employee's actions)
No. Both workers have created a sprocket, which exists as a direct result of their actions