ABOLISH RESTAURANTS

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

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Announcing the second comic book/coloring book from www.prole.info:

ABOLISH RESTAURANTS: a worker's critique of the food service industry


ABOLISH RESTAURANTS looks at the daily misery, stress, boredom, and alienation of restaurant work, as well as the ways in which restaurant workers fight against it. Drawing on a range of anti-capitalist ideas as well as a heaping plate of personal experience, ABOLISH RESTAURANTS is part analysis and part call-to-arms.

Take a look. Print it out. Pass it to friends. Drop it off in local bookstores and comic shops.

A hi-res printable PDF is available at the following locations (it is 13.4 mb--15 two-sided 11x17 pages):
http://www.libcom.org.uk/lib/ar.pdf
http://www.arbetsfornedringen.tk/polkagrisar/ar.pdf
http://www.prole.info/ar.pdf

A low-res online version is available at:
http://www.prole.info/ar/index.html

And a text only version is available at:
http://www.prole.info/ar.html

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If you haven't been to www.prole.info before, have a look. We have printable pamphlets and online texts written by anarcho-communists, autonomist marxists, left communists, situationists, workers, labor historians, and much more... as well as a prole.info manifesto/coloring book: "Work . Community . Politics . War"

ABOLISH RESTAURANTS, is currently being translated into Swedish. But stop by www.prole.info and get in touch if you would like to translate it into another language.

For further reading on restaurants from a working class perspective check out the classic "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell or "Hamburgers vs Value" from Riff-Raff #3-4 ( http://www.riff-raff.se/en/3-4/burgers_vs_value.php )

Finally, thanks to everyone who gave suggestions or helped proofread ABOLISH RESTAURANTS, including but not limited to our friends at: A Murder of Crows ( http://www.geocities.com/amurderofcrows1 ), Polkagrisar ( http://www.polkagris.nu ), and LibCom ( http://www.libcom.org/ ), as well as [email protected], Mikus, Giovanni, 888, McShiesty, and tiger kung-fu girl.

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[OneBrickOneVoice]

Thats the dumbest shit ever said. Abolishing food that you can't make your self.

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

Did you even read it? it doesn't sound like it.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Speaking in terms of socialism... there would be no objective reason to abolish restaurants.

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

except that restaurants are a fundamentally capitalist institution

[Entrails Konfetti]

Originally posted by [email protected] 24 2006, 05:26 AM
Speaking in terms of socialism... there would be no objective reason to abolish restaurants.
Yeah right.
The workers would run the show and if the customers give them shit they'll give them what for!

Maybe resturants could evolve into cafeterias, under Communism.

[Leo]

Division of labor is supposed to increase in the communist society, so I would say cafeterias would be cooking for all workers as it would be the area they specificize in, and other workers would go out and eat, and this would save them more time for themselves and their own work.

[BreadBros]

Originally posted by Leo [email protected] 24 2006, 07:24 AM
Division of labor is supposed to increase in the communist society, so I would say cafeterias would be cooking for all workers as it would be the area they specificize in, and other workers would go out and eat, and this would save them more time for themselves and their own work.
That makes no sense. The way technology is advancing at the moment and the way it would be utilized by any classless society would indicate that division of labor would decrease. The need for workers who would specialize in some minute task that could be automated would dissapear. The likelihood that individuals would branch out of any primary occupation to participate in various would increase.

[Leo]

That makes no sense. The way technology is advancing at the moment and the way it would be utilized by any classless society would indicate that division of labor would decrease. The need for workers who would specialize in some minute task that could be automated would dissapear. The likelihood that individuals would branch out of any primary occupation to participate in various would increase.

:lol: First of all you need to understand that a communist revolution is not a "technocratic explosion" causing technology to increase at an intense pace. Technology is going to make jobs easier in the future, but robots aren't going to cook for us :rolleyes: We should focus on the material conditions.

[BreadBros]

Originally posted by Leo [email protected] 24 2006, 07:50 AM

That makes no sense. The way technology is advancing at the moment and the way it would be utilized by any classless society would indicate that division of labor would decrease. The need for workers who would specialize in some minute task that could be automated would dissapear. The likelihood that individuals would branch out of any primary occupation to participate in various would increase.

:lol: First of all you need to understand that a communist revolution is not a "technocratic explosion" causing technology to increase at an intense pace. Technology is going to make jobs easier in the future, but robots aren't going to cook for us :rolleyes: We should focus on the material conditions.
I never stated it was a technocratic explosion, although I do expect technology to advance at a faster rate under a classless society. What I stated was that a communist revolution would entail the restructuring and uses of technology. One of the main ones would likely be to do away with as many tedious, unwanted tasks as possible.

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

The point is not to get robots to do the shit work, so we can play. The point is to change the relations between people, so that the necessary productive activity that makes human society work, is freely chosen and not alienating. Work/play is a capitalist distinction. For this reason, I would say that division of labor will be greatly reduced. This doesn't mean there will be no division of labor, not everyone will do everything all the time. But the kind of extreme division of labor that capitalism pushes will be gone--the hundred different steps to putting together a pin. This is a basic and necessary step toward making daily productive activity communist.

[Whitten]

Did it ever occur to you that some people like to cook? That there are alot of chef's who consider their work an art form and people who find cooking a relaxing form of self-expression?

[karmaradical]

Originally posted by EL KABLAMO+Sep 24 2006, 06:45 AM--> (EL KABLAMO @ Sep 24 2006, 06:45 AM)
[email protected] 24 2006, 05:26 AM
Speaking in terms of socialism... there would be no objective reason to abolish restaurants.
Yeah right.
The workers would run the show and if the customers give them shit they'll give them what for!

Maybe resturants could evolve into cafeterias, under Communism. [/b]
Dictatorship of the Waiter?

I think there is a natural philosophical struggle against of the asshole vs the waiter. The struggle the waiter has against the person would exist beyond capitalism, because most of the time they are waiting on a fellow worker (sometimes one who makes less).

I come from a family of working class assholes. They have carried the tray, and yelled at the person carrying it. We cant abolish everything just because its hard. How would we grow as humans?

I dont think we should abolish restaurants, and I think if they are under worker control, they dont have to be dicks either. We should just all try to be nice to each other.

Instead of Abolish Restaurants, you are really trying to get across the message of "Abolish Assholes"

[Wanted Man]

No. I like eating at restaurants.

[rouchambeau]

Division of labor is supposed to increase in the communist society
Marx would disagree with you.

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

Yes some people like to cook or serve other people good food. I'm one of them. However when you're forced to do this over and over again to people who you don't give a shit about, as fast as possible, it quickly loses its interest. I'm not saying that no one will cook for anyone else in a communist society, i'm saying that the form of cooking for other people under capitalism (the restaurant) will be abolished.

It is ridiculous to say "Abolish Assholes." There will always be assholes. But under capitalism, the asshole customer (who may well be a working class person) has power over the restaurant worker. The restaurant worker just has to take it, if they don't, they will lose their job. The relationship pits people against each other, institutionally.

Worker-run restaurants alleviate some of the worst extremes of restaurants, but the workers have to work longer hours and make less money. So it's a trade-off. Both are capitalist. Both will have to go.

[karmaradical]

Originally posted by I'd Rather Be [email protected] 25 2006, 01:17 AM
Yes some people like to cook or serve other people good food. I'm one of them. However when you're forced to do this over and over again to people who you don't give a shit about, as fast as possible, it quickly loses its interest. I'm not saying that no one will cook for anyone else in a communist society, i'm saying that the form of cooking for other people under capitalism (the restaurant) will be abolished.

It is ridiculous to say "Abolish Assholes." There will always be assholes. But under capitalism, the asshole customer (who may well be a working class person) has power over the restaurant worker. The restaurant worker just has to take it, if they don't, they will lose their job. The relationship pits people against each other, institutionally.

Worker-run restaurants alleviate some of the worst extremes of restaurants, but the workers have to work longer hours and make less money. So it's a trade-off. Both are capitalist. Both will have to go.
I posted a big long detailed, pretty, post in response to this, but somehow it got deleted. I am too lazy to re-write it, so I will sum it up:

To try to abolish assholes in a socialist society, has just as much logic as trying to abolish restaurants in a socialist society.

[red team]

The point is not to get robots to do the shit work, so we can play.

What do you mean that's not the point? That's exactly the point. What do you think the whole point of technology is for? Given a choice would you rather take the stairs or the elevator up 20 floors? The answer's obvious.

As for robots you underestimate the number of technical workers that are available to make such an eventuality possible. Currently in the I.T. industry the hiring ratio for applicants for technical positions is less than 1%. Talk about reserve army of computer geeks, eh? :lol:

Again, what's wrong with restaurants?
http://www.slawcio.com/dinner7.jpg

[mauvaise foi]

Originally posted by Leo [email protected] 24 2006, 07:24 AM
Division of labor is supposed to increase in the communist society,
Huh? Have you read the German Ideology, or Capital or anything by Marx or Engels? The division of labor under communism is supposed to dissappear as far as is technically possible.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Originally posted by I'd Rather Be [email protected] 24 2006, 01:32 AM
except that restaurants are a fundamentally capitalist institution
How?

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

Dr. Rosenpenis: read the above article, it lays it all out.

Red Team: you have no grip on reality.