-Dr.DRL
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Class warfare is nothing new
St. Cloud (MN) Times March 2, 2011
Recent events in Wisconsin eerily echo those of a century ago, when progressive reformers in both political parties sought to constrain the power of corporations and the influence of money in politics for the good of the nation. They saw a healthy working class and a growing middle class as bulwarks of democracy and central to a strong economy. The consolidation of economic and political power by corporations representing a wealthy minority was seen as a threat to the very character of America. Fears of class warfare were not unfounded, as radical representatives of socialist and anarchist groups marched to protest the growing power of corporations while those who ran the corporations sought to cement their power over the working class.
Early 20th century
In his 1905 State of the Union message Republican President Theodore Roosevelt noted “The fortunes amassed through corporate organization are so large, and vest such power in those that wield them, as to make it a matter of necessity to give ... the government, which represents the people as a whole ... some effective power of supervision over their corporate use.” Antitrust laws and other regulations were enacted to constrain the power of corporations and to weigh their political and economic interests against those of the working and middle classes they employed.
Though widespread in the tumultuous years of the Great Depression, accusations of class warfare fell to the margins of American politics in the 1950s, reflecting an amicable truce made possible by a rapidly expanding economy, new opportunities for education and increasing geographical mobility that began to erode some of the historical barriers that separated the working class from the wealthy. The corresponding growth of the middle class — buoyed by rising wages, access to education, widespread home ownership and relative political stability — yielded a period of social and economic progress unmatched in our history.
Income disparity
Unfortunately we’ve lost much of the ground gained during the past half-century as political power and wealth have again become increasingly concentrated at the very top of pyramid, while the wages and rights of workers have been curtailed. Income disparity has risen to levels unseen since the 1920s. Today the top 1 percent own 38 percent of all wealth in the United States and the top 10 percent control 71 percent, leaving a relatively small piece of pie to be split among the 270 million Americans who don’t fit in either group.
Union membership was at its highest in the late 1950s; today only 15 percent of all workers are unionized and the collective voice of labor has become muted as a result. Nonunion workers have taking to questioning why unions receive “unfair” wages and benefits, instead of demanding more from their own employers.
It seems Roosevelt’s opinion that “in order to insure a healthy social and industrial life, every big corporation should be held responsible by, and be accountable to, some sovereign strong enough to control its conduct” has been forgotten. One result is the growing influence of corporations on elections, clearly evident in the financial support the anti-labor Koch Industries provided for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign in 2010.
Ongoing class warfare
Today we are seeing the results of this long process played out on the streets of Madison and other state capitals. Despite limited coverage by the mainstream media, hundreds of thousands of Americans have stood up to protest Wisconsin’s attempt to eliminate collective bargaining for public employees, knowing that once the public sector unions are gone the private sector comes next. Once the unions are gone, there is nothing to stand between the interests of working people and the power of corporations and the plutocrats who control them.
As protesters in Madison have been pointing out in recent days, “It’s only class warfare when the workers fight back.” The truth is that class warfare has been going on in America for decades, but we’ve all been too polite to talk about it.
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