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Comment by yocoda | Hacker News Reader

> And though their algorithms can be cruel taskmasters, pushing drivers to drive recklessly fast, they are an improvement on gangmasters who used to match workers and employers.

> The final lesson, therefore, is that governments should rethink the social contract to make gig work as beneficial as possible

Is this author trolling or am I dumb?

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The sentiment reminds me of this old 19th century labor movement song "The Dollar Alarm Clock" (although in that song, they were making fun of it)

    What a blessing it was when the thing was invented;
    It beats the slave-driver who came with a stick;
    It rests on the shelf in the shack that I rented;
    It never gets hungry; it never gets sick.

https://politicalfolkmusic.org/blog/john-healy/dollar-alarm-...

You're reading The Economist.

I think the problem is the middleman'ness of it. There has to be a better way where the software in the middle is more of a cheap service fee just connecting negotiating parties, instead of extracting as much value as possible from both sides.

Sadly this world has no concept of open source altruistic software to fix big problems like this. Linux is amazing, but nothing like it may ever happen again on its scale, and as its oldest and beardiest die off... it will fall

I’ve not driven Uber Eats but a friend of mine had. The app doesn’t push you. YOU push yourself if you have a certain personality and want to maximize earnings.

You are both the exploited and the exploiter.

Back in the day, and it is still true to this day in many places in the world, one way to keep worker "motivated" was to have an abysmal low wage, with barely possible targets to reach to unlock a bonus that would make it possible to eat at the end of the month.

The gig economy is just an extension of this, but instead of low wage, you now have no wage.

From a capitalist point of view, it is very efficient for low-skill job. Almost anyone can join, increasing the supply of worker and therefor lowering the amount you have to pay them, until the point where you just can't make a living out of the gig. The perfect "balance point". It also get rid of the unproductive (old, handicapped, injured, or just people who have a family to take care of) worker rapidly and with no fuss (no costly firing procedure), and only keep the ones who can make the required grind to be able to live.

It is truly the end goal of capitalism, finally turning human into just another resource to be used and discarded when it has been used.

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