Voluntary Communism

It's twelve months since Jodie Jansen and myself discussed the National Union of Student's poster regarding ADF recruiting tactics. Well, twelve months on, the next issue du jour is voluntary student unionism, and how opposed to it is the NUS. This article by Felix Eldridge (cool name, daddy-o) outlines what may occur once voluntary student memberships is introduced into Australian tertiary institutions.

Or these things may not occur. In a democracy, people are given a free choice to make decisions based on the full range of options available to them. Principally, what do I get out of it? Compulsory unionism is against the structure of a democracy. The example of compulsory ambulance charges as a comparative example is blatant bullshit. Do the NUS provide a service as essential as emergency medical services? No, they provide avenues for a range of activities, the majority of which are extra-curricular at best, and completely unrelated to a student's area of study in the majority of cases. Unless you are studying feminism and/or transgender/homosexual activities. In which case, the NUS may under write your activities. See queer spaces for an example. I'm not kidding. 'Queer space on campus represents a haven from homophobia, where you can express and explore your sexuality, organise and politicise and access information about campus facilities and community groups.'

I thought that's what public toilets after dark were for. Luckily, if you are a university student, the NUS will supply you with a place to politicise your sexuality. Good to see they are using your student contributions for worthy causes. < /sarcasm >

Voluntary student unionism will now move to the free market model. If it is deemed as required by students, then it continues. If not, it fails. Welcome to the real world.

Cross-posted at Bastards Inc.

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