#EU#Sweden#SocialDemocracy#Unions#ClassWar#ClassStruggle: "The Social Democratic–led trade unions organized 80 to 90 percent of the workers, the vast majority of whom voted Social Democrat. Large sections of the middle classes also supported the party’s policies. The broad Social Democratic movement was extraordinarily well organized. It was, to use [Antonio] Gramsci’s phrase, a party with a great capacity to produce and educate its intellectuals itself. The leadership was recruited mainly from the working class, and it soon acquired extensive experience in leading struggles and movements. [. . .]
But the conquests of the Swedish working class are also linked to waves of radicalization, recurrent periods of strikes, increased social struggles, and the emergence of new social movements and revitalization of existing ones. Virtually all important democratic and social reforms can be linked to such periods of intensified class struggle. The democratic reforms after World War I were a direct consequence of the massive hunger demonstrations initiated by working women, who were largely unorganized either politically or as laborers.
The social reforms initiated in the 1930s came about amid the threat of widespread strike movements, a surge in trade union organization, and women’s struggle for the right to work and for basic social security. The spectacular peak of the solidarity-based welfare state in the 1960s and ’70s coincided with the emergence of a series of new social movements with transformative ambitions, in which the women’s movement played a decisive role, and with a strong radicalization of the traditional labor movement, mainly expressed in a wave of spontaneous strikes.
Certainly, the Social Democratic Party has often played a central role in these processes."
An injury to one is an injury to all. When one person faces harm or injustice, it threatens the well-being and freedom of all. We mustn't fight and compete with each other; that is how we stay subjugated. Cooperation and solidarity are the only way we will all be free, the only way we can live our lives to the fullest and bring as much pleasure to ourselves and our neighbors on this planet.
Workers unite! Form unions to gain collective strength against bosses. Recognize that harm to one worker reflects the systemic exploitation affecting all workers. We have a world to win!
In capitalism, workers create value through their labor, but capitalists exploit this by paying workers less than the value they produce, resulting in an unjust distribution of wealth where workers are systematically undercompensated for their contributions while capitalists accumulate disproportionate profits. Abolish Capitalism!
#Marxism#ClassStruggle#History#PhIlosophy#Capitalism: "For Bensaïd, “indignation is a beginning. A way to stand up and start moving. First comes indignation, then rebellion, then we shall see.” Among all of Bensaïd’s “heretical” contributions to the renewal of Marxism and revolutionary theory, the most important, in my eyes, is his radical break with the positivist, determinist, and fatalist ideology of inevitable Progress that so heavily weighed on “orthodox” Marxism, particularly in France.
His rereading of Marx, with the help of Auguste Blanqui and Walter Benjamin, led him to understand history as a series of crossroads and bifurcations; a field of possibilities whose issue is unpredictable. Class struggle is central in the historical process, but its result is uncertain."
Real Freedom in America Can Only Be Won Through Class Struggle
A long tradition in US thought has emphasized the importance of economic security for ensuring individual liberty. But to truly realize equal freedom for all, we need a socialist politics fighting for democratic control over the economy.
The deadly intersection of labor exploitation and climate change
"The current design of our economic system privileges the well-being of only 1 percent of all humans. Whether it’s a deadly virus or the deadly climate, unless we clearly identify the systemic problems and redesign our economic system to center the well-being of all human beings, the future will not be livable, rendering discussions of “productivity” moot in the deadliest possible way."
#Space#SpaceExploration#Capitalism#ClassStruggle: "As grim as it all sounds, we are not defenseless against the space capitalists. We have our own weapons. First, much of what I have outlined is currently in violation of international treaties. This seems like a flimsy reassurance, given that treaties are violated constantly, but it does buy us time and provide opportunities for alliances. Capitalists will need to sort out the legal and political complications of space before they can weaponize or colonize it. Actors who might otherwise be hostile to many left goals on Earth have shared interests here, and the nightmare scenario I have outlined should be equally terrifying to them.
That said, pessimism and fearmongering can become numbing, and alarmism is a poor foundation on which to build a future, no matter how alarming the alternatives are. Instead, alongside attention to the dangers of capitalism in space, we can organize around a vision of space for the people. Even our brief forays into space have produced an incredible bounty in terms of research, and further experience and exploration holds the possibility of untold realms of knowledge with which we can improve the human condition. The vast resources of space, currently not owned by anyone, can be used to improve conditions on Earth. Why tear up soil full of life when we can tear into lifeless asteroids? And why should capitalists, who have only made it this far on the backs of workers and the state, be allowed to profit from this?"
The #poverty of industrial England was the backdrop of HG Wells’s childhood. This experience instilled in him a clear-eyed realism with which he rejected both utopian & progressive notions that #socialism could be won without #ClassStruggle
The personal annoyance of needing to type "social class" instead of just "class" over and over in an RPG when talking about, like, 'the laboring class' vs. 'the ruling class', because D&D fucked up the term.
🔊 New Episode Alert! "Class Struggle" - A Radical Podcast, Episode 7 is now LIVE! 📻
Dive into the rich history of class struggle and witness how it has shaped societies and triggered revolutions around the world. 🌍
Plus, enjoy the revolutionary sounds of @Soundz_of_the_South as we delve into the power of protest through music and dance, featuring the history of Toyi-toyi, a form of protest dance. 💃🎶
When we consider the #WGA#strike we might think it's big bad studios & their greedy leaders being unwilling to given even an inch to the lowly #writers. There's a lot of truth in that, but there's also the fundamental nature of the situation. In other words, it's #ClassStruggle. #Capitalists (those who own the #studios & control the money) want to profit off the #labor of others. It's not just about some people being bad, it's also structural & ideological, like any other capitalist system.