You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments View context
4 points

if the cops were truly class conscious theyd know that theyd be better off not being the ruling classes dogs.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

No, because that wouldn’t be true. The bourgeoisie could trivially pay any sufficiently small group of people so that it’s in their best interest to follow along. This is true of cops but also of lawmakers (small groups of people that exert great control), so the current system would be rigged in favor of the ruling class even under perfect cooperation of the proletariat.

That’s not to say I’m 100% sure a revolution needs to happen. Most likely, it does, but the reasoning above does not rule out specific cases (e.g., conditions where the threat of a revolution could provide sufficient leverage, or “loopholes” in a legal system that might allow an additional advantage for a cooperating majority).

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

No your thinking too logically, and thinking about this scenario like its the real world at all. This hypothetical is so unrealistic that it changes all dynamics and makes things like that non-functional. You have to think about it from the perspective of all value, and all wealth derives from workers. So as soon as all workers are class conscious the rich stop being rich. You can’t reward cops, and politicians for serving you if the workers you need to use to reward them wont work.

Its not a realistic scenario at all, its like hitting a magic red button and dissolving capitalism instantly. Even 90% class consciousness works like how your describing because there are still mechanisms for the rich to reward their elites, but in a 100% scenario that all breaks down. If 100% of people had true class consciousness and just inherently knew how to make their material conditions better everyone would turn on the rich except the rich. Theres no logical reason at that point not to do so. Money literally becomes valueless, and every worker could go on strike and every other workers would support them. The reason the mechanisms to keep control of society by the rich work now is because they divide and conquer. If everyone stopped listening all at once there is no way to keep control. Its already over at that point.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

It is indeed true that if you instantly ended capitalism, there would be no way to bribe cops or other groups against the working class. But if you simply give all workers class consciousness, you are not instantly ending capitalism. Workers would not be able to refuse to work because they have no capital and cops would prevent them from breaking the cycle, then capitalists would keep those cops working for them.

I actually made a post in !mathematics@lemmygrad.ml looking at this specific hypothetical scenario from a mathematical perspective. The comments are especially interesting.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Ask Lemmygrad

!asklemmygrad@lemmygrad.ml

Create post

A place to ask questions of Lemmygrad’s best and brightest

Community stats

  • 447

    Monthly active users

  • 604

    Posts

  • 8.6K

    Comments