291 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
291 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Appendix
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Information and the Construction of Socialism
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Coordinadora, JUSOCAN
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Avde. 1 de May, 13 Local 2
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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
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Spain
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Translated by:
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Carlos Betancourt and Peter Waterman
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Presented at:
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Haymarket International Labor Conference
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Chicago, May 1986
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1. The strategy of the power-holders
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He who has information has power. The collection and use of
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data and information about objects, persons, groups or peoples one
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wishes to dominate or exploit--this is the secret of the
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accumulation of power, the manipulation of persons, groups and
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peoples, the exploitation of natural resources, of natural and
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human behavious at the end of the 20th century. The instrument
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which permits the accumulation and use of information is the
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computer and informatics.
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There exists a growing consciousness about the problem and the
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dangers that such an accumulation of information implies, there are
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extensive and varied accounts of it as well as dramatic examples
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and apocalyptic perspectives.
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Let us summarize some of the most fundamental characteristics
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of the problem:
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a) The process is rapid, appears irreversible, and is accompanied by a
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totalisation and internationalisation. The data banks are inter-
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related and mutually supportive;
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b) There is as yet no adequate, equal or
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proportional consciousness of the problem on the
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part of persons and sectors already victims of
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the above process, or about to be placed in
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positions of subordination difficult to
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overcome;
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c) The monopolization of information is the culmination of
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capitalist
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alienation. It is no longer a question of extracting
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surplus value
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from the product. It is no longer a question of
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domination by
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coercion, threats or fear. It is now a question of
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extracting and
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dominating consciousness itself. The problem is that data
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and
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information concerning persons, groups and peoples is no
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longer
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within their reach but within that of their dominators;
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d) This situation can reach an irreversible point, a moment
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at which
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feelings, sentiments, motivations and `information about
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informa- tion' is known and manipulated by the dominant political
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power.
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The manipulation of behaviour thus results in a system of
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selection
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in which, on the one hand, those who are both alienated
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and adaptable are incorporated into the system whilst, on the
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other hand, those who do not respond to the logic of the
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system (in which
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the fetish of productive rationality serves to conceal the
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inflexible and immobile structure of power) are removed;
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e) Faith in life moves us to firmly believe that the problem
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can be
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solved. A problem is essentially an invitation to find a
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solution.
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The crucial facets and characteristics of the problem reveal
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to us the proper way to surpass it.
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2. General characteristics of the alternative
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a) The alternative to the monopolistic accumulation of
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information is the socialisation of information:
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access to data centres by those persons, groups or
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peoples about whom information is accumulated in
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such data banks. Against monopoly, diffusion.
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b) Here are some partial dialectical alternatives--
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if not the final, sole or most important ones:
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the destruction of monopolistic accumulation,
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the denial of information in the archives of
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existing political powers, the secret
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accumulation of information--the force of
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counterpower;
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c) Whether one likes it or not, the alternative
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must be as global in both its concepts and
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breadth as is the current threat of irreversible
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alienation. What has till now been a person
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option, a result of ethical or ideological
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conviction--the choice between domination or
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freedom, capitalism or socialisation--is
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becoming, and actually appearing, as an
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unavoidable scientific dilemma. There is no
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intermediate space;
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d) In the same manner as the channels of
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communication are being internationalised, the
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fragmentation or globalisation of their contents
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becomes radicalised. In as much as decisions
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are fundamental conditions of life and death--in
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so far as they are more political--then the
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fragmentation of the data supporting these
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decisions make them no longer incomplete but
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false. What is required is a public truth,
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socially developed and used, the clear air
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necessary for a collective, communal--in other
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words a human--life;
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e) This means cultivating the primary sources for
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the creation, construction, development and
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unfolding of human truth. This is a matter of
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experience. And for this we need more adequate
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means of genuine personal contact and of global
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communication. This is, then, both the moment
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of creation and the point of rupture that makes
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history advance. And it is here that there is
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awakened, developed and dynamised that feeling
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that passes through the deepest parts of the
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human being in order to continually discover
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`the new,' the not-computerized, the data which
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escapes the already-existing archive and which
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orders the external precisely because it is
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rooted in the unplumbable depths of the
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internal;
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f) The only means by which technological
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development can deserve its name is by the
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socialisation of progress. This implies that
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technological development cannot justify the
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exclusion of man from the productive process but
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that it must, on the contrary, discover new
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activities that make of labour something more
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human, that allow for a reduction of routine
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tasks, for an increase in creative ones,
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employment for all.
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3. Implementing the alternative
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A. At the political level
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It is necessary to promote the passage of rules and laws by
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which it can be declared as a matter of principle that every data
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bank or archive in which information about individuals, groups or
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peoples is collected is open to and usable by these same
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individuals, groups and peoples.
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The existence of secret data banks is not only dangerous for
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the `informatised' (not the same as the `informed') but is as--or
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more--dangerous than the existence of arsenals of weapons,
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explosives and poisons. This is why it is necessary to implement
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the principle above not only in constitutional declarations but in
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the most diverse normative areas such as laws, rules, negotiations,
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contracts, etc.
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B. At the trade union level
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In so far as wages and conditions demands are concerned, we
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need, in the first place, to emphasise the encessity for access to
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information. And, in fact, in the same way as there exist health
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and safety committees, there is an undeniable necessity for
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information-access committees. These committees should seek the
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advice of technical experts, just as is presently the case with
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health and safety committees when they need the professional advice
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of doctors and lawyers. Such a right cannot be denied on the basis
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of arguments concerning the defence of enterprise security. The
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`enterprise' is an artificial construction, a fetish which in
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reality is nothing other than the concrete interests of concrete
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persons. And in a situation of conflict between concrete persons
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the alternatives are only an understanding or struggle. Any other
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alternative is a delusion.
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It is necessary to introduce other values into the
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negotiation of collective agreements, by means of which progress is
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socialised: to transform the tasks which increase alienation, to
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reduce working hours, to create new activities by means of which
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labor can be humanised, to create an alternative power as
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counterweight.
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C. At the level of the alternative movement
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Personal alternative: To deepen personal communication. To
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construct a basic infrastructure, primary groups, direct
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relationships, in a continuous process of both structuring and
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destructuring, stabilisation and rupture.
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At the sectoral level: Concrete programmes (production,
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consumption, culture, etc.) in which what is demanded is access to
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information, its diffusion, its control, and participation in its
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development.
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At the level of the alternative movement: An infrastructure
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of coordination services for horizontal, ascending and descending
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information. The fundamental instruments at the service of
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alternative groups and platforms are: the computer and
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psychodynamic means.
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Computers. These should be used by alternative groups and
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sectors to teach and control means for access to and participation
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in information.
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Psychodynamic means. These should be used as instruments to
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stimulate creativity outside the sphere of canned information, i.e.
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as a counter to the power accumulated in the computer (see General
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Characteristics of the Alternative, above, point 2.e).
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4. In relation to the ports movement
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The transport of commodities is the point in the chain of
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control least dominated by the capitalist structure. Production is
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strictly controlled by the rigid structure of the enterprise.
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Consumption is fully dominated by the extreme vulnerability of the
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isolated individual. Spatial mobility in the transportation of
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commodities implies a certain distance from immediate control by
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the instruments of the enterprise structure. And it is here where
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world capitalism is currently fighting its fundamental battle.
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And, within transportation, it is precisely in the movement of
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commodities within ports that there continues a possibility for
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exercising some kind of counterpower with a certain degree of
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autonomy and strength. Maritime and land transport are both
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closely tied to the power structures of the system.
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It followes from the above assumptions that the alternative
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ports movement should implement the following lines of activity.
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Create information centres which can be used by the base at
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different points: ports, autonomous trade union organisations,
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national and international coordination.
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Such information centres, characterized by their openness,
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accessibility, participation, and by their ascending, descending
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and horizontal diffusion, should be administered by representatives
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of the base, or those serving them, and supplied with the necessary
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material equipment (computer information bulletins, magazines, data
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centres, etc.).
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We would also suggest that the contents--the data to be
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worked upon, stored, systematised, analysed, distributed--should be
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the following:
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a) Working conditions, skills, wages, collective
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agreements, standards, laws and working rules,
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etc.;
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b) Trade union experiences, organisation,
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strategies, campaigns--especially solidarity
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campaigns--coordination, etc.;
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c) Political structures, enterprisesm public
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administration, policies, purposes, dependency,
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etc.;
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d) Technical structure, mechanisation;
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e) Documentary archives, magazines, articles,
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documents relative to matters of interest;
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f) Movements, groups and alternative experiences
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close to the plans of the ports movements.
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The strategy against the monopolisation of information, and
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stimulating the diffusion, access to and socialisation of the same:
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a) Coordination of archives, studies, available
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information, by means of periodical meetings and
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seminars at national and international level.
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Distribution of work and successive
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coordination;
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b) Campaign and information concerning the problem
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in order to raise consciousness;
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c) Concrete tactics: legal standards, negotiations,
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control commissions, etc.
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