62-year-old courier Jie Baoshan was suddenly dismissed by the company on December 2nd this year after working for six years. Being elderly, he has no social security, no pension, and no savings. Now he is hospitalized due to illness and has accumulated a lot of debt. He has also lost his source of income, and how to earn a living in the future is a problem. “I can’t even manage two meals and a place to stay.” Clearly, the bourgeoisie sees that his age is unfavorable for better exploitation of surplus value, so they forcibly dismissed him. “Brother Bao, who had multiple unsuccessful communications, went to the headquarters of the courier company on December 4th, wanting to ask what was going on. He still wanted to continue delivering orders, but he didn’t see any leaders. The staff who appeared not only ignored the issue but also had a poor attitude, and the problem was not solved.” I feel that the bourgeoisie calling the dismissal of the rider an “honorable retirement” or “retreat from the Jianghu” is a bit too disgusting, saying nice words while condemning workers to death. In capitalist society, the freedom of the proletariat is the freedom to get a job and ultimately the freedom to become unemployed.
It is probably because, as workers age, accidents and mishaps are more likely to occur in capitalist production activities. The bourgeoisie does not care about workers’ safety but is more concerned about avoiding unnecessary public opinion and legal troubles. If these older workers get injured or cause fatalities, leading to public controversy or lawsuits, they might resort to harsh dismissals for convenience. Through this approach, the lives of workers seem to have nothing to do with them; being unable to find work, lacking pensions, and starving to death also appear to be the so-called “natural selection” outcome.
Looking at an elderly person standing in the cold wind like this, I couldn’t say anything anymore; this old man is no longer able to survive.