Chapter 3: SKETCH OF COMMUNIST SOCIETY -- LABOR
2. Will labor become a duty for everyone?
2.1. Labor obligations and ethics
In a communist society, if the money economy-wage labor system was abolished and people could obtain goods and services to meet their needs independently of labor, wouldn't people withdraw from labor itself?
In fact, this was the biggest bottleneck problem in communism, and it seems that it was the hidden reason why Marx proposed the labor certificate system as a labor system in the early stages of communism.
The reason is that workers in "a communist society that has just emerged from capitalism," based on their experiences in the capitalist era, will be accustomed to the world of selective forced labor, where people work out of necessity to live, or, conversely, not to work unless life requires it.
However, if a system like labor certificates is not practical, it may be necessary, at least in the early stage of communism, to require all members of society to work with penalties. If so, it is likely that communist society will be criticized as an archipelago of camps for forced unpaid labor.
That said, if we think about it, even in capitalism, work is not necessarily a duty, but diligence is still considered the most important ethic. Max Weber connected this with the ethics of Protestantism, but the situation is the same in societies where Protestantism is not dominant.
In the world of capitalist "hard work", labor (wage labor) is effectively forced as long as it is necessary for living, while if it is not necessary - for example, inheriting a huge inheritance from relatives, there is no punishment for living idle without working.
Then, isn't the ethic of diligence in a capitalist society nothing more than a mobilization order for labor service to the general public who should provide the labor needed by capital?
In contrast, in the early stage of communist society, the labor obligations that are unavoidably imposed are not economic mobilization orders, but the social obligations of everyone derived from the fact that the essence of communism lies in social cooperation (mutual help). But basically it will be imposed on the core working generation, specifically those between the ages of 20 and 60.
In this respect, Keynes' description of the communist ethos as "service to society" in contrast to the capitalist ethos of "love of money" is not entirely untrue, although he may have overemphasized the "service" aspect.
2.2. Occupation allocation system
At this point, there may be concerns that if labor is made compulsory, there will be a uniform distribution of occupations, depriving workers of the freedom to choose their occupation.
However, this capitalist thesis of "freedom to choose a job" is tricky. Despite the term "freedom," it is the capital side (management side) that always holds the initiative in the labor market. In addition, so-called mismatches due to discrepancies between job seekers' aspirations, aptitudes/skills, and the content of their work are becoming commonplace.
In contrast, in a communist society, regardless of whether or not labor is made compulsory, the role of public employment agencies will be strengthened and a system of systematic job allocation will be established. But it does not lead to forced allocation. Rather, it goes beyond formal mediation of simply collecting job listings and introducing them to job seekers, like job placement in a capitalist society. This is because it will be possible to provide scientific counseling-type employment placements that give full consideration to each person's aspirations, aptitudes and utilize psychological tests.
In this system, all members of society of the core working generation are registered with local public employment agencies and are devised so that they can find suitable jobs within the vicinity of their residence as much as possible through the agencies. The daily rush hours will be gone.
However, if labor is an obligation with penalties, the minimum necessary intervention measures may be unavoidable, such as having registrants who have not worked at all for a certain period of time be investigated by the public employment agency to see if there is a valid reason for not working.
On the other hand, as we will see in Chapter 6, vocational training will be enhanced through systems such as "multi-purpose colleges" for adults, which will prevent so-called NEET（Not in Education, Employment or Training）and long-term unemployment.
2.3. Reduction of working hours
The introduction of such a planned occupational allocation system would also make possible a drastic reduction in working hours. This is because work sharing, which under capitalism might be seen as an excuse for lowering wages, will become such a basic form of labor that there will be no need for such special phrases.
Thus, by working much shorter hours than they are now - even if mandated - people will have more free time to devote to their own hobbies and dreams. Wouldn't it be fair to say that it is a society with far more "freedom" than a society that is overwhelmed by forced labor to make a living?
