John Stewart Mill, Sociology, 1879.
he also wrote in his introduction to the book well the commentary is mine:
he also wrote in his introduction to the book well the commentary is mine:
The great increase of electoral power which the Act places within the reach of the working classes is permanent. ha ha ha The circumstances which have caused them, thus far, to make a very limited use of that power, are essentially temporary. 131 years later, does it still count as 'temporary'? It is known even to the most inobservant The powerful certainly observed this, that the working classes have [... for good or ill realized their goals/opinions are in conflict with the powerful...]. However much their pursuit of these objects may be for the present retarded seriously retarded by want of electoral organization, by dissensions among themselves, or by their not having reduced as yet their wishes into a sufficiently definite practical shape, it is as certain as anything in politics can be, that they will before long before 2010? find the means of making their collective electoral power effectively instrumental to the proportion of their collective objects.
His introduction is poignant in its delusional futility. He - and perhaps the rest of Socialists in general - completely and totally underestimated the willpower of the disenfranchised classes. Their will to do nothing is astonishing. He also completely and totally underestimated the lengths to which the propertied/powerful would go, in order to protect their status quo. Or the awe inspiring, subtle creativity they would employ.
The disenfranchised have had their "collective objects" co-opted by the rich & powerful. The powerful, fearing to loose their proportion of that power, have convinced the Little Guy that "you can be just like me". So, all these tea-party idiots are running around defending the rich & powerful because they think they, too, can become rich and powerful, and want to have those power-perqs.
What better way to fuck the little guy, than to get her to do to herself?
1 comment:
BRAVO!!!! I'm glad someone is finally saying it the way it is. It's something I first saw happening back in 1983-84 with Ronald Reagan. The rich cannot live without the working class, because really, who does all the work? So there has to be a delusion created for them so they won't think they deserve to be rich, too. Except in the capitalist system, and "the American Dream," the little guy has been taught that he does deserve to be rich. ALL HE HAS TO DO IS WORK FOR IT.....
Who's the joke on?
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