- Capitalism and Alternatives -

Morality, in all cases, is determined by the ruling class

Posted by: Stoller on December 29, 1999 at 10:47:07:

In Reply to: Why is it more moral for a society to grant rights to the individual at the expense of the group? And vice versa. posted by Frenchy on December 27, 1999 at 13:40:35:


To address the question posed by your post's title, I champion individual rights OVER collective rights. That's why I believe workers should directly run the workplace and people should directly run the state.

Communists like me oppose the minority rule of capitalist society. Why should 10% of the population call all the shots? If bosses were the 'truly superior' personages they claim to be---maybe... but until everyone is educated and given a chance to control their own work, how do we REALLY know that thost capitalist aristocrats are 'truly superior'?

You once told me that worker control of the workplace wouldn't be viable because all the workers would give themselves a raise and the week off. Sure workers would---at first (and we probably deserve it). But once the stores were bare, workers would get back to work.

: : Whether it's a boss at work or a 'representative' in Congress, THIS expert always calls the shots.

: I expect the boss at work to call the shots. It's distasteful, irritating, infuriating, often unecessary, galling to be part of that machinery, but I don't see how you can realistically get around it. The alternative is that we all trundle back to the pre-Industrial era, a ride I'm not prepared for. Sorry.

I'm certainly NOT calling for a preindustrial society.

But to think that workers live and produce stuff only because of bosses is to SHORTCHANGE YOURSELF (and all other workers).

Bosses are simply people with skill and experience at being bosses; sure, some earned their positions---but most BOUGHT their positions and then either hired experts (on salary) to run things or grew into the job. Workers can learn these skills. Hell, most workers ALREADY have these skills (running businesses FOR the capitalists).

: If anyone had told me 20 years ago how much I'd dislike my gov't I'd've told 'em they were nuts. HA! Look at me now. I'm ready to celebrate Timothy McVeigh Day.

: Majority rule would really really suck, the reason why is because the masses can't govern themselves. I just don't think they can, or even want to. I think it's better that we stick with a representational democracy based on the Constitutution and the Bill of Rights interpretted as originally intended.

You're clearly conflicted about your feelings on government, as your two responses above show.

Nevertheless, what I would like you to consider is that the WORKPLACE is the REAL government, the DAY-TO-DAY government of working people.



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