The Invaluable Socialist Logic part #2 - Perspective

Link to the first part of Socialist (lack of) Logic

One of these socialist features of University Life is portrayed in certain subjects; sociology is the prime example, but also Public Policy, a subject I had the great (mis)fortune to study last semester. When basing its raison d'être on the right of Government to control and intervene, it obviously becomes very biased toward socialist frameworks/attracts students with those values. Not to mention all the students mopping around about 'intersectionality' or staff going on strike every other day. Where are all the freedom-minded students?

Anyway, here's a fun example from Public Policy course of last semester.

Apart from continuously reading from Fredrich Engels, taking his words for granted, my lecturer had such a striking example of socialist logic:

Before Industrial Revolution
First she explained to us a view of 18th and 19th century Great Britain, before the technical and economical changes of the Industrial Revolution. She depicted an awful environment, vividly describing how poor women in rural areas had to spend their entire day on sewing tiny, tiny laces which were used for table decorations in Upper-class homes. For this, they made the equivalent of 2 pence. Oppressive, horrible life, lots of them became huckle-backed and blind from working in the dark. Let's just neglect the discussion of historical accuracy of this description and take it at face value.

After Industrial Revolution
Now machines were invented that could do 10-20 or even a 100 times what these women had been capable of doing in a day. My lecturer, consequently, condemned the change in society, arguying that these poor women no longer could spend their entire days on sewing laces, because machines took their jobs - and they became unemployed! Horrible, oppressive unemployment.

You'd think that if sewing these tiny laces all day, which were sold for essentially nothing, was such a horrible treat, finally getting rid of it and being able to dedicate yourself to somethink less harsh - that'd be a good thing. Nono, not in Socialist Logic. Whatever happens, whatever the reason, the oppression of poor workers is taken as given. Also, it's a terribly convenient position to take; when workers do a, they're oppressed. When they finally are relieved from doing a, they're oppressed. Falsifiability, anyone?

Especially awkward is this description of 19th century life when the lecturer appropriately forgot to mention that the standard of living between 1780-1860 increased some 150% for regular poor people like these. Well, well. Nobody accused socialists for being thorough. Or even coherent.

Socialist Logic: Everything is always bad and capitalism is oppressive. Period. Especially when capitalism/globalisation over the last 20 years lifted some 900-1000m people out of poverty. Awful, really.