GARY OLSON F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “The rich are very different from you and me,” to which Ernest Hemingway replied, “Yes, they have more money.” Another retort might be a variation on the quote attributed to Honore de Balzac, “The secret behind every great fortune is a great theft.” There are 657 billionaires in the United States whose combined wealth grew more than $1.7 … [Read more...] about A Few Comments on the Origins of Great Wealth
class struggle
A Runaway Inequality Problem
One of the great unexamined questions of our times is why there is so much suffering, despair, misery and rage in the midst of unimaginable wealth. Naturally, pundits and politicians wish to avoid this question because an open public discussion of the widening wealth gap can impart critical insights into the nature and logic of the capitalist system they’ve worked so hard to … [Read more...] about A Runaway Inequality Problem
Notes from the Editor [LT3]
Notes from the Editors The essays in this issue are of two sorts. The one we present first focuses on grassroots actions of the you-are-the-leaders-you’ve-been-looking-for persuasion. Mostly. Their focus tends to be on doings in the US: the black community, bingo workers, teachers and unions, meritocracy (an analytic counterpoise dealing with the wealthy), a grassroots … [Read more...] about Notes from the Editor [LT3]
Class War and the 2020 Election
by Alex Fischer Class war is heating up in America. Endemic to capitalism, class war is a crude term for the general struggle led by the poorer classes against the war led by the bourgeoisie or capitalist class over the fruits of the national economy.1 Basic human rights such as food, housing, healthcare, education, and transportation are increasingly unaffordable. The … [Read more...] about Class War and the 2020 Election
The Social Democratic Pipedream
by Michael D. Yates Today in the United States, there has been an upsurge in social democracy/democratic socialism (I use these terms interchangeably; I don’t see much difference between them, at least in the U.S.) The main current of social democracy is the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), whose overall political perspective can be described as follows. There is no … [Read more...] about The Social Democratic Pipedream
Why It’s Important to Understand Cultural Capital
Gary Olson When categorizing my class background, I’ve invariably replied “working class” but in truth that was more aspirational than factual. My father was either unemployed or underemployed and died of a heart attack at age 46 while working as a night shift orderly at a veteran’s hospital in Fargo, ND. I was 12-years-old, with a 7-year-old brother, and thereafter our … [Read more...] about Why It’s Important to Understand Cultural Capital
You Can’t Litigate Your Way To a Union: The IWW Campaign at Boulevard Bingo
Editor’s Note: This essay recounts an early 1990s strike at a bingo hall in Allentown, PA, led by the local branch of the Industrial Workers of the World. It originally appeared in John Silvano’s book Nothing in Common: An Oral History of IWW Strikes, 1971-1992. by Lenny Flank The whole thing started in June of 1992. Jeff Kelly just happened to be … [Read more...] about You Can’t Litigate Your Way To a Union: The IWW Campaign at Boulevard Bingo