We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Divide and Rule American Style

Click here to access article by John Spritzler from New Democracy World. 

All ruling classes have used this technique throughout the past 10,000 years of their existence, and today's capitalist class is really employing it to the maximum. To his credit Spritzler points this out with recent examples. However, what I think Spritzler misses, or at least doesn't emphasize sufficiently, is that under capitalist class rule, like any class rule, it is impossible to provide for the equitable needs of everyone in society. Someone has to suffer under class rule, and nobody can accept being treated unfairly--that is an integral part of our human nature. Our masters just want us to fight each other over who gets the goodies to divert attention away from them, the ones who are hoarding wealth and power which is promoted by their capitalist system. 

Instead of pointing this out, Spritzler focuses on the "best way" to cope with failure within this failed system. I don't think that there is a best way, or even a good way. Thus, the most effective way of fighting this technique would be to attack the incapacity of capitalist organized societies to meet demands of social justice. This would raise people's consciousness of the real problem and thereby direct their efforts toward attacking the system and not each other.