the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Dec 2, 2024
As if it isn’t bad enough that we get sticker shock when we go grocery shopping. But when we go to check-out, there may be only one or maybe even no check-outs with a cashier, open. And so, on to the self-check-out lines where customers scan and bag their groceries, themselves.
Ninety-six percent of big grocery stores have self-check-out lanes. And the propaganda goes—the customer can have autonomy—it can be more efficient, rather than wait in a long check-out line. They float the myth that lower labor costs could lower prices.
Has self-scanning groceries led to lower prices—No. Is it more efficient? No. Just ask anyone who has more than six items; anyone who is subjected to “Please wait. Help is on the way” when something goes wrong with the scanning process.
The reality is, self check-out is a transfer of paid labor—cashiers—onto unpaid labor—the customers. It is big stores looking to achieve long-term labor cost savings by hiring fewer cashiers, and expect customers to do the work for free. As one customer put it, as she found herself with no choice but to use self check-out: “I didn’t leave work to come to work.”
The principle of using technology to make work more efficient, and improve customer service could be a good thing. But in this capitalist system, technology comes with a hook, since it is used to increase the profit margins of companies, rather than help workers.