Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2002 22:51:52 +1100
Subject: Re: AUT: bush's speech and volunteerism


On 2/7/02 2:40 PM, "Peter Jovanovic" <peterzoran-AT-hotmail.com> wrote:

> 
> as to civil conscription (barred in our constitution i believe) i think the
> purpose of the 'work-for-dole' scheme  is more to get people used to the
> shitfullness of work rather than doing any particular services for the
> state. only a minority of the unemployed are forced into work for the dole
> anyway.

Work for the dole and other such schemes have very little to do with
disciplining people for work. They have something to do with providing
extremely cheap labour for charities and other organs of 'civil society',
who make a killing from the free volunteers. They have everything to do with
taking revenge on the poor.

Many people are only too glad to join the work-for-the-dole programs - the
anger I sense is that the programs don't actually create any sort of
permanent jobs. 

As a footnote, I don't think that civil conscription is barred by the
Australian constitution. In Papua, legally an Australian territory until
1975, people could be forced into village labour, building roads and bridges
and so on. 

Thiago



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