THE MANIFESTO OF THE ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY PARTY (A Work In Progress)

PART I--OWNERS AND SLAVES

 

The history of all hitherto existing society is a history of slavery.

In every period of history, there have been two and only two classes: those who rely on others to give them what they need for their survival; and those who own the means of survival. In other words: Master and Slave. That is all there is in spite of disparate methods of hiding it. It is true that there has always been a gradation among both the slave and the Master, but when these false perceptions of varying classes are closely examined, the two-class system becomes apparent. There are only slaves and Masters -- the Owned and the Owner.

The current epoch of history is that of the Corporation. This epoch has sprung from the previous epoch of the Bourgeoisie. This previous epoch was featured in the writing of Marx and coincided with the rise of the Middle Class. The Middle Class, not to be confused with the term as it is employed today, were those wealthy individuals who were neither nobility, nor royalty, and who eventually replaced both nobility and royalty as the primary force of society. Governments created during this period, the United States of America serving as the primary example, were republics. In these republics, wealthy commoners swept aside the concept of royalty and attempted to create a society of equals, at least in the eyes of the law. Governments were established which clearly delineated the rights of citizens. Yet these rights are only applicable between government and citizen, not between boss and worker -- not between Master and Slave. Thus the epoch of the bourgeoisie created a slight of hand of oppression. It set the focus of despotism onto government, while refusing to acknowledge that one’s employer has a much more direct governing role over the life of and individual than does one’s government; and thus, becomes the most direct route of despotism and oppression.

The Middle Class established the existence of two governments -- one largely impotent, the other silent and oppressive. The political government granted political rights and political freedoms; the shadow government of the employer granted economic inequality and oppression. The workers never once realized the truth of things, that the political government was in the employ of the Middle Class business owners. The workers believed that political rights and liberties could have meaning apart from economic equality. Therefore, every enlightened Middle Class republic served merely as decoy and nothing else, concealing the fact that the true nature of that same society was that of a Slave state. It is true that the Middle Class business owners did not own the worker directly, but by owning the money that the worker needed to survive, the Middle Class indirectly owned the worker. Owning the money that the worker needs to live, and then doling it out a bit at a time in order to keep the worker coming back to work -- pay the worker too much and he no longer needs to work; pay the worker too little and he dies. So the Iron Law of Wages declared that the Owner Class had to pay the Slave just enough to keep the Slave alive, or else the labor would be lost.

The genius of the Capitalist was in creating a society in which money is essential, even though money is largely and abstraction and a symbol. This has become painfully obvious when we stopped pretending that currency was backed by gold or some other so-called precious metal. Money is back by both faith and greed. The Master determines that everyone needs money in order to survive, and since the Master has all the money, those who have no money must work for the Master, becoming Slaves, or at the very least, Serfs, to the Master, exchanging time for the money that is now needed by everyone in order to survive.

Someone will challenge the point by stating that money was in use long before Capitalism was developed. It is true that money did exist and that precious metals were often deemed as valuable, but the use of money in pre-Capitalist society also coincided with bartering, in which other goods or services could be substituted for money by those who had no money. Capitalism has done away with the practical reality of bartering or exchanging goods, and replacing them solely with the abstraction of money, of which the Capitalist Class coincidentally is in possession.

The political government in every historical epoch only exists to protect the interests of the ruling class. In the epoch of the bourgeoisie, the Middle Class displaced royalty as the ruling class. The republics that issued forth from this revolution were created by the Middle Class to protect the interest of the Middle Class -- just as monarchies had protected and reflected the interests of royalty and the nobility. This point must be writ large: at not time has any government anywhere ever exist to protect the interest of the worker or the Working Class, but merely to assist in the oppression of the worker by the ruling class. Any rights granted, or grievances addressed, on behalf of the worker over against the business owner were merely sanctioned by the owners themselves, working through the facade of political government, to avoid full a scale Slave revolt.

This is where Marx failed to understand the true nature of the bourgeoisie. For him, the bourgeoisie were merely the owners of the mean of production, but it can be seen that they were so much more, they were the owners of the means of survival. The bourgeoisie were the Owners -- they owned the capital, they owned the business, and the owned the means of survival for the worker, giving the worker no more than what he needed to survive. The secret that the Owner never bothers to tell the worker is that Wage Labor Is Slave Labor!

Money itself is the shackles that keep the Slave from running. The threat of unemployment is the whip that keeps the Slave in line. Rights exist in the political arena, but the Slave does not engage in politics. Oh, the Slave entitled a vote, but the Slave is only allowed to choose from among two Masters.

What is the point of having the political right to worship as one sees fit if one can be fired for not wanting to work on a holy day, or a Sunday, or because one wants to go to church? What is the point of having the political right to free speech if one’s can be fired for exercising that political freedom? What is the point of having the political right to being told the crime and a trial by one’s peers, if one can be fired without warning or reason because one person deems it expedient? What is the point of having political rights when the worker is forced to exist outside the political realm?

Without economic freedom, there is no other freedom.

The first demand every worker, everywhere, should make is a demand to have The Bill of Rights extend to one’s place of employment -- giving the work freedom from his employer. Including:

1) The freedom to worship, to have religious objects, and to attend religious festivals and rituals and services.

2) The freedom to speak one’s opinion, even if that opinion is contrary to the opinion of the owner, without fear of reprisal.

3) The freedom to write letters to the editor, or other publications in one’s private time without fear of reprisal from one’s employer.

4) A worker can only be fired for a reason relating to the performance of that worker, and before that worker can be fired, there must be a jury of fellow-workers from that business who agree that the owner has just cause to fire the worker.

5) Workers have the right to assemble.

6) Workers have the right to be secure in their persons " no lockers or desks or any area provided for the worker can be searched without the consent of the worker, or without the consent of fellow-workers who agree that the owner has just cause. Bodily fluids to be considered private "  since we give each person privacy in their elimination " and therefore, no owner may demand urine or any other bodily fluid or excretion for examination without the consent of the worker or without the consent of the fellow-workers who agree that there is just cause.

7) All workers everywhere should form a society-wide union that includes all citizens everywhere and is not tied to employment or occupation. In this way, whenever the Masters actively oppress any segment of society, the whole of society can be shut down and brought to a halt by all citizens everywhere.

If unemployment is the whip of the Slave Owner, a Citizens’ Union is the sword that will allow the worker to fight back.

As it currently stands, The Bill of Rights only apply to the Masters, since they are the ones who exist in the political realm. The Masters are free and they dole out symbolic gestures of freedom to the Slaves so that they will continue to sell their time for the money the Masters tell them they need in order to survive. 

Reviews

[Blue Sky]

Shedding a bit of light upon the two groups, in quoting yours...

in understanding The political government in every historical epoch only exists to protect the interests of the ruling class

yet..

the true nature of the bourgeoisie. For him, (the Marx) the bourgeoisie were merely the owners of the mean of production, but it can be seen that they were so much more, they were the owners of the means of survival. The bourgeoisie were the Owners�they owned the capital, they owned the business, and the owned the means of survival for the worker, giving the worker no more than what he needed to survive.

quite a noteworthy piece, part 2 coming soon?