Back when working class people were employed under horrific conditions and workplace safety was unknown, Karl Marx postulated on revolution. Marx was right about labor at the time. Capitalism was brutal to working people. And revolution did come to a lot of countries. But the socialist revolutions of the early 20th Century were doomed to failure because those socialists created state capitalism, not socialism. The largest county in the world is China. Ostensibly a communist country. But in fact China is a state capitalist regime, as was the Soviet Union. State capitalists operate like fascist states insofar as foreign trade and commerce is concerned. Socialism is limited to universal employment, housing, and healthcare. State capitalist governments are, and were, as oblivious to the Environment as are fascist economies. There is little difference in the practical application of public policy so far as polluting the air and oceans is concerned. Preventing of global warming. Or destroying the rainforests. The Soviet Union is gone. Gone is the failed industrial socialist experiment. Capitalism won. But the dream of socialists did not die. Nor did the desire for equality, fraternity, and liberty. Those dreams are alive in the hearts of Leftists around the world. But labor is not to be counted upon as a revolutionary force any more. Capitalism has grudgingly improved working conditions, workplace safety, reasonable working hours, etc. Child labor is no more. The revolutionary ardor of labor has been quietly defeated by progress. The same can be said of minorities. People of color are no longer discriminated against as they once were. With that progress, the desire to overthrow the system has waned. Women and gays have also made tremendous strides under capitalist oligarchies. And as long as progress is within sight and gains within reach, revolution is not on their agendas. The only hope for revolution is that the two primary constituencies which are locked in a struggle with capitalism will become sufficiently radicalized to form the nucleus of revolution. Those constituencies are the Environmental movement and the Animal Rights movement. Environmentalists recognize that capitalism is the cause of Environmental degradation, the cause of climate change, the poluter of oceans, rivers, the air. Capitalism is the reason that rainforests are being destroyed, that the worlds natural resources are being depleted, that governments are powerless to correct or rectify the harm being done to the Earth. Animal Rights activists recognize that Capitalism is the primary cause of animal cruelty and exploitation. It drives the animal exploitation industries, including the mind-boggling horror of the Animal Holocaust. Unlike any other disaffected constituencies around the world, the Environmental movement and the Animal Rights movement each have the moral authority and the philosophical ardor to overthrow the current capitalist system. And they have more resources to do so than any revolutionaries in history. Unlike downtrodden labor or impoverished radicals of Marxs day, most Environmentalists and Animal Rights advocates are financially comfortable. They are well educated. They are knowledgable. And their dedication rivals any religious ardor. When the Environmentalists and the Animalists finally give up on trying to impact the capitalist system, they will surely bring it down. And their allies will be the Leftists who have turned a blind eye to the treatment of the Earth and Earthlings.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:55:34 +0000
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