Post by Logan_the_libcom on Mar 12, 2016 4:04:40 GMT
I know this is an awful question to ask, but I've been thinking about it a lot and want your opinions on it. America seems to lack a proletariat. Not that the American worker isn't being exploited, capitalism is inherently exploitative, but we lack a proletariat in the traditional sense. America has three things that prevent us from having a proletariat class in the traditional sense, and I think that this is a huge issue to overcome in spreading communism in America. Firstly, there is a large middle class. In the past, countries that became communist did so because the proletariat were sick of living in poverty. However, in America, the average working class citizen isn't in poverty. They SHOULD be living in better conditions, but they aren't living in slums either. While of course having people not live in slums is a good thing, it presents the issue that the American proletarian have something to lose. Marx once said "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains", but in America they DO have something to lose. Anything that threatens to change the fabric of America is a threat to the stability of the American citizen. Even if a communist government coming to power successfully would be better for them, the threat of losing what they have is a VERY scary thought.
Secondly, in past societies, the proletariat have no way to escape from their class. It was basically feudalism. In America though, the system allows there to be a slight chance for a member of the proletariat come to power. This allows the existence of a "self-made-man" narrative to exist. Of course, the self-made-man's success is entirety based off of luck and exploitation, but that isn't important, it gives the people hope. American citizens tend to see themselves as special, and that they are going to be the ones who become successful. If they just work a little harder, they'll be millionaires in no time. Even though maybe .1% of the working class will ever amass any real wealth, this number is enough, and those who do gain this wealth are publicized enough, that people really do believe that it could happen to them to. The notion that we are all just a couple hours of overtime away from being a millionaire must come to an end if any left wing movement is to have a real chance.
Thirdly, and most importantly, America DOES have a proletariat in the traditional sense, but they don't live in America. The capitalists have exported the truly hard labor over seas. They've made other countries citizens do the work that we don't want to. Specially, we've moved it to China, a country that HEAVILY limits free speech. The people who do the work have both lived under a repressive form of communism and have trouble organizing. This makes a communist movement there very, very hard. Even if a strong communist movement existed in America, the true workers don't live here, and as such the movement could do very little. We would have to seize the means of American production, which is on the other side of the world. They've separated the proletariat from the movement, and moved the proletariat to an area that no movement can exist.
Now, all of this is based on ideas I've had. If you think they're wrong, PLEASE tell me. I would like nothing more than to be 100% wrong about this. Also, I don't mean I think it is literally impossible, just harder than "usual"
Secondly, in past societies, the proletariat have no way to escape from their class. It was basically feudalism. In America though, the system allows there to be a slight chance for a member of the proletariat come to power. This allows the existence of a "self-made-man" narrative to exist. Of course, the self-made-man's success is entirety based off of luck and exploitation, but that isn't important, it gives the people hope. American citizens tend to see themselves as special, and that they are going to be the ones who become successful. If they just work a little harder, they'll be millionaires in no time. Even though maybe .1% of the working class will ever amass any real wealth, this number is enough, and those who do gain this wealth are publicized enough, that people really do believe that it could happen to them to. The notion that we are all just a couple hours of overtime away from being a millionaire must come to an end if any left wing movement is to have a real chance.
Thirdly, and most importantly, America DOES have a proletariat in the traditional sense, but they don't live in America. The capitalists have exported the truly hard labor over seas. They've made other countries citizens do the work that we don't want to. Specially, we've moved it to China, a country that HEAVILY limits free speech. The people who do the work have both lived under a repressive form of communism and have trouble organizing. This makes a communist movement there very, very hard. Even if a strong communist movement existed in America, the true workers don't live here, and as such the movement could do very little. We would have to seize the means of American production, which is on the other side of the world. They've separated the proletariat from the movement, and moved the proletariat to an area that no movement can exist.
Now, all of this is based on ideas I've had. If you think they're wrong, PLEASE tell me. I would like nothing more than to be 100% wrong about this. Also, I don't mean I think it is literally impossible, just harder than "usual"
