4 ms·
in 1847, Marx wrote Wage Labour and Capital, an accessible pamphlet that made the prediction that over time, the middle classes will be squeezed out of prosperi
by 0x262d 8y ago
in 1847, Marx wrote Wage Labour and Capital, an accessible pamphlet that made the prediction that over time, the middle classes will be squeezed out of prosperity and the majority of people's wages will trend downwards, until they hit a fundamental low point: the minimum amount required to reproduce the next generation of workers. the key point is that this is completely endemic to capitalism, which is characterized by capital owners having diametrically opposed and competing material interests to workers.
we have seen surges of militant class struggle reverse this trend at specific points in history, but in 2019, with decades of dormancy of class struggle leading up to the present, it's happening again.
abolishing private ownership of capital and democratically allocating society's productive resources is the only solution.
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago> abolishing private ownership of capital and democratically allocating society's productive resources is the only solution. But attempts to do so have resulted in more suffering and death, rather than less. Maybe we don't need to solve it at that price. Or maybe there's a better solution than the one you propose.
- 0x262d 8y agohave you considered that socialist countries are intentionally sabotaged and crushed, and mainstream understanding of the history about it is distorted, by people who don't want their wealth expropriated?
- AnimalMuppet 8y agoEven were you correct, have you considered that this will also happen the next time socialism is tried? That said, I will admit that there are almost certainly such attempts as you say, but I deny that they are the actual cause of the problems. The problem is that socialism doesn't work. The rich just give you a nice comic-book villain to explain away the real cause of the failures.