The fact that there isn't a revolution happening in the US right now is crazy
The fact that there isn't a revolution happening in the US right now is crazy
Americans are too weak to demand what we deserve. Too complacent.
Worker productivity has skyrocketed over the last century, but we're still working the same 40+ hour work weeks. What's the point of advancing technology and increasing efficiency if our lives don't get easier/happier?
Healthcare is dogshit and we're all categorically getting ripped off by it.
We used to tax rich people appropriately in this country and, surprise surprise, the middle class was way stronger back then.
Now we're just pussies that let the useless mega-rich do whatever the fuck they want to us and idolize them for it.
We're a bunch of bitches is what we are. Too feeble and uneducated to bring about real change. Even voting against our own best interests because we can't be bothered to learn anything. We're honestly pathetic.
I have always said that so long as McDonalds has a hot burger for a few bucks on every street corner, there will not be a revolution in the US.
Rather than starving to death, we have an obesity epidemic along with an opiate epidemic, which prevents the revolution from getting up off the couch.
Not trying to claim a conspiracy here, just the way things are.
Americans have historically been obsequiously subservient to the big man.
From Washington to Rockefeller to Bill Gates or Elon Musk, if you're the richest man in the country people will practically worship you as a demigod rather than revolt at your presence.
We may say we love Jesus, but our real God is Mamon
The reason there isn't a revolution in the USA is mostly down to atomization. Suburban growth directly leads to insular communities with no sense of responsibility to the rest of their brothers and sisters. Working class families in the burbs have functionally 0 ability to organize.
To add that on, I like to underscore the gravity of the situation here with details:
- The top 10% of earners starts at ~170k/yr
- The top 1% start at ~820k/yr
- The top 0.1% start at ~3,300k/yr (3.3 million)
- If Elon Musk had 100% of his net worth in really basic bonds giving 5%/yr he'd be pulling in 22 BILLION dollars per year, forever.
The interest on his earnings alone is equivalent to 130,000 workers at the start of the top 10%. That's the entire workforce of American Airlines for comparison.
If the average person was paid like the 0.1% for 1 year they could retire and live off 65k/yr forever.
This chart is broken down by quintiles but it illustrates the disparity well imo.
Half of the wealth of the top 20% here (excluding top 1%) is in businesses or real estate they own. Most of that will be their own house and a small business, though
leeches"landlords" mostly fall in this category too.For the top 1% that's more like 20% of their net worth.
they shaped their culture around anticommunism. you bet they will keep alienating their people further, and will hold off a revolution for as long as possible.
Elon Musk could transfer $1 million in stock to each of his 153,473 employees,
which would cost him $153 billion and he would still have a net worth of $302 billion!
He'd still be the richest man in the world and would still have $56 billion more than Jeff Bezos!And some of that money he has came from under-paying factory workers at his Fremont, California assembly plant. For a long time the hourly rate was $22 (not sure what it is now) but auto plants in the Midwest were paying that or better and he was paying $22 per hour in one of the highest cost of living areas in the country.
Elon is now worth more than Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates combined.
Despite the current wealth inequality a good number of people are still living decently enough.
I'm waiting to see what happens when Trump starts putting his taxes in place. When people are miserable enough they'll take to the streets and protest. If we reach a breaking point where living conditions completely break down and there still aren't protests then it may as well be over for democracy.
There are significant barriers in place for revolution in the US. The Proletariat is still under the belief that supporting US Imperialism will benefit themselves more than Socialism. Additionally, theory is frequently coopted by Trots and other impractical forms, resulting in people endlessly seeking to critique society, not change it (your Noam Chomskys and the like). Moreover, labor organization has been millitantly crushed.
I recommend starting with theory. I have an introductory Marxist reading list if you want a place to start.
For elaboration on Chomsky, I recommend reading On Chomsky.
I know it's cliche by this point. But this one misattributed1 quote has become more prescient than ever.
They've learned that giving us new shiny shit every year will keep the majority of us mollified against all kinds of injustice.
1 - Commonly credited to George Orwell's novel. It's actually from the stage play adaptation.
The top 10% have 70.7% of wealth in the US currently (from the federal reserve website)
From what I've been seeing throughout the years, I'd say give it time. Change usually takes a bit to get started and things usually hit a low point before a breaking point.
The next four years of Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum running things could trigger something especially if they try to go through with that P-'25 BS. As it is, the indiscriminate mass deportation in it that they are planning (including natural-born) could easily be a bit of a powder-keg for starting a massive protest.
They let us eat cake.
I mean...there was an attempt. The chronically online seem to think a revolution in the USA would be socialist, but these are Americans we're talking about. Its either be back to 1800s style libertarian ethics or fascism, corporatism, something like that, decimating government power not increasing it.
can't say I'm a huge fan of Nick Cruze or the rest of RBN, but a graph's a graph I guess
Wait till most people are starving.
The "wealth distribution" theory of unrest is so thoroughly debunked its insane to see people who still think in these terms. Smh.
It's simple, fractions of the populace(both sides) are actually in a cult, they do what the cult says, they ignore anyone outside the cult if they go against their cults leadership, and they vote with how the cult tells them to vote. The country is not statistically a cult nation, but the cults know if they can get 1/8th of the populace to do what they say, it takes at least 1/8th of the populace to stand against them, and we don't have a leader, or even a coalition standing against them... It's just 1/8th of the populace crazy out of their minds voting their cults desires into reality, and it's happening with multiple groups, it's not even half the total population, but when approximately only half the voters actually vote, it doesn't take much to get control.
