Divide and Rule

SOYMB came across an interesting article which an extract is worth re-publishing.

“...The “diversity” among the global capitalist elite is vast, but there is one thing they all have in common: They need raw materials and a cheap work force to assure profits. That means they depend on war and exploitation for their very survival.

Capitalist elites may not all like one another or agree on every issue, but they know how to close ranks to protect their common interests when threatened. They don’t take their eyes off the prize, they think long-term, and they don’t get distracted by wedge issues. That’s how they’ve survived and thrived.

And the masses? There is one thing the masses in this global system have in common: They are all exploited either in war or business. Yet, unlike their rulers, they can’t seem to get beyond wedge issues. They rarely focus on the elite as a class – preferring instead to wallow in the cult of personality and obsess on the figurehead. They rarely think long-term, instead rushing hysterically from one election to the next, hoping for “change” without even defining what “change” means under capitalism. And they rarely move beyond wedge issues (which the ruling class seems to have a never-ending supply of). Whether it’s racism, sexism, transphobia, marriage equality, abortion, bathrooms or genders in the military, the masses always seem to be missing by a mile the class nature of their exploitation.

It’s not as though the elites’ divide-and-conquer tactics are new, but each generation forgets how the previous generation was duped and played.

In fact, not only do the masses ignore class exploitation, preferring instead to talk about the unique “oppression” of their own specific groups, but they have singled out the working class on which to project all the sins of capitalism....How convenient to shift the blame for exploitation onto the victims. Too many liberals are ignorant of the economic and anti-war basis for much of Trump’s victory within the working class. It’s cheap, lazy and dirty to simply tar the entire working class with the “racism” word. It takes a lot more guts to actually analyze their plight.”


For full article go here