Unironically Eating the Rich
The other day I caught this npr video about how knights were the thugs of medieval ages. It got me thinking about Foucault. He argued that back when the oppression was beheading people in squares and coming to your door to demand taxes the people had much higher chance to rebel and these actions could really spark flames that could bring real change (not always for the best. see: French Revolution. ) But when systemic violence and oppression becomes a faceless entity — arbitrary wage bonus requirements, inequality that is decided behind closed doors, homelessness due to foreclosure, etc. — it is nearly impossible to defy the injustice. We basically turn into the frog in the pot which is getting hotter ever so slightly and we boil in the end.
We prefer the billion in one chance to become rich and turn away from ideas such as universal basic income and basic housing for everyone.
Because that is what we are indoctrinated to do. Think about it, when you defend capitalism who profits from this arrangement the most, the billionaires or the people?
Even the fact that the world has billionaires now surprises me. As I see the world went into great lengths of trouble to end the kings and queens and aristocracy in 20th century. There was a real move towards ideas of republic and universal suffrage and equality. We ended slavery just to bring it back with more steps. A worker who is earning minimum wage can barely afford rent and bills and barely feeds themselves.
So let’s tell it like it is and admit that minimum wage is slavery.
I mean think about it. What would it take for the person X to earn so much money? In what condition that would be fair?
When they cure death? Maybe. When they invent time travel? Yeah, sure. When they sell books online? I don’t think so too.
Trading goods does not entitle people to be richer than Mansa Musa. But usually when scientists invent something to benefit humanity that much they want it to be freely distributed. Only industrialists benefited massively from the ideas of the likes of Tesla and Fleming. And if you think about it there is no reason for any person to be that rich. If your economic system allows this outcome you have to go back to the drawing board because you have to admit you messed up massively somewhere.
And I am not saying these because I am a commie or red-pilled or woke or any other hip oppression word the status-quo comes up with. I am simply fed up and I know that you are too.
So what if the United States won the cold war and “eradicated” communism. Are we to not criticise capitalism?
Marx did it, he was criticising capitalism before any of these ideas had any labels. He was just fed up with the child labour, workers working 18 hour shifts, no occupational safety, lack of adequate compensation for work and so on. Did these problems went away? Can you honestly say that we solved any of these issues completely?
Over 150 years later we still fail to correct the most inhumane practices of life just to make rich people richer.
Every day we are getting further away from starting something that can bring about real change. Because while we scroll mindlessly on our preferred social media and relieving ourselves with escapist media, capitalism is cooking up new ways to subdue us. You are never dissatisfied enough. You are maybe a little uncomfortable but because soldiers are not taking away half your grain every harvest, just deducting it from your paycheck it is just a bit of a drag. But you’ll get over it, maybe venting on twitter might sooth you.
Oh by the way they are taking way more than half of our grain, they just leave us the amount to get us by and take the rest.
The question is now, how do we answer to this kind of oppression? Violence is never the answer. Or is it? Am I genuinely thinking this myself or am I conditioned to say this. I may never know, but I don’t think it is necessary if an adequate response is prepared. For a healthy start let’s just assume some basics:
- Value of work is completely fictional right now.
- Big corporations always look out for themselves, they are always trying to extract more money and labour from you.
- Media conglomerates are not to be trusted most of the time. (Source and proper peer reviewed research is required. But if you come into conclusions of like earth being flat, check your research you went too far. For healthy scepticism learn scientific method.)
