The Observation Deck

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a little vacation. I thought that while I was away I'd give everyone this to chew on. I'm sure then when I return, it (and possibly I along with it) will have been ripped to shreds.
---------------------------------------------------------

Full Size
I recently ran across this concept, called the Pyramid of Capitalism. It was designed in 1911 and used to advertise for "Industrial Worker" the newspaper of the IWW. It was published by International Publishing right here in Cleveland Ohio.

At the top of the pyramid is capitalism itself, and the "almighty dollar".


Second, we have the elite classes (kings, prime ministers, presidents, corporations), who "Rule You".


Just below them are the clergy and religious, who "Fool You" into believing things.


Next is the military, who will "Shoot You" to make sure compliance is absolute.


Second from the bottom, we find the middle and upper classes who will "eat for you".


Finally, supporting everyone above them are the workers and farmers who "work for all" and "feed all".


Let's examine a few aspects of the design.

First, the design was created by a union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It would be in their best interests to portray their potential membership (the workers/farmers) as beaten down and in need of help. If the workers are treated right, what's the point of joining a union? You will also note that the labor union bosses are not included anywhere, because they have power and money (given to them by those they "represent") which puts them above their workers, the very people the workers/farmers are supposed to be fighting against.

Second, the creators of the art completely ignore the fact that the workers and farmers are, in a capitalist system, completely capable of moving off the lower level of the pyramid. Anyone can move up with effort and patience. To better one's self is part of the human condition.

Benjamin Franklin, Jon Huntsman, Chris Gardner, Andrew Carnegie, Dennis Kucinich and thousands of others started poor and built themselves up to positions of wealth and/or power. Likewise, it is also possible (probably easier) to fall from power and become poor when one has spent all their life in some higher class.

Third, where are the minorities? Those all look like white people. That's because they are.


In 1897-98, a coal miner's strike occurred in Pana, Illinois and was not resolved until, among other things, blacks were not allowed to work in the mine. The governor of Illinois gave orders to the state militia to "shoot to pieces with a gatling gun any train bringing in blacks". Chinese immigrants were used as scapegoats. One of the first union labels placed on a union-produced good was a cigar band that read 'Made by White Men'.



Why the prejudice? The unions feared that minorities would be willing to work for lower wage and take all the jobs.

Now, allow me to put forth a theory. If this is a pyramid of capitalism, would a pyramid of communism/socialism be the same thing, just upside down? Putting the workers on top? Let see what would happen if this pyramid was, indeed flipped over?



Now, the rich are supporting the workers, but when the few are required to support the many, the system stands for about as long as one can balance a pyramid on its point. Eventually, it will crumble and fail. The rich will find ways to get around the taxes (case-in-point, the old story about Warren Buffett paying a lower tax rate than his secretary). The middle class will wonder why they are penalized for doing things right and those that do the wrong thing are rewarded. The lower class will demand more stuff, believing they have a "right" to it (probably because they were told as such), until there's no way it can be provided to them by the government.

I would propose a different design for the "Pyramid of Capitalism".


You see, we are all created equal. We should all try to do what we can with what we have within us.
Some of us better ourselves, adding rungs to the ladder and achieve new heights.
Some fall off and it is up to them to climb again.
Some of us are willing to help our neighbors achieve and/or recover.
Some, unfortunately, choose to stay close to the ground and never realize their own potential.

Unfortunately, there are those in our world who believe it is necessary to take an ax to the ladders of those who have been successful. Or, they use some artificial means to raise up those that have not worked for success, and when the cord gets cut, the unsuccessful come to a crashing end.

Roy,

Just an old pearl of wisdom here....

"The palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy" Benjamin Disraeli

In a perfect world, the opportunities of capitalism seem to be enormous for everyone, and as you say, there are many who can survive, compete, and even thrive under this system.

At the same time, and for a variety of reasons, there are always those for whom the playing field is not level. At those times, both government and the courts have had an obligation to make things right, and they have often done so.

As you correctly point out, there was once great prejudice in our country. There was once a far greater lack of education and opportunities than there are today.

Many groups and individuals were indeed discriminatory back then, but that was then.

As many discovered, however, by banding together for whatever cause, be it civil rights or the right to organize and even strike for better working conditions, there is great power in organization, and there is great power in numbers.

Supporting the labor movement does not necessarily mean not supporting Capitalism. For the past 150 years, they have co-existed, if uneasily at times.

Back to the banjo...I feel a labor song coming on strong!

Hello Roy! Thank you! I will be sure to not vote for whoever the Communists run for President, or who the Wobblies run for any office.

As it is, the Wobblies were a fringe Union for most of their history in America. Conventional laborers and skilled laborers looked down on them.

Racism isn't unique to unions. American laborers with no inclination to socialism or unions have a rich history of pogroms and massacres against chinese laborers in America! I do not know whether or not they would be offended at the suggestion that Chinese and black and irish laborers should make as much money as them! but eventually the Irish made enough money to despise blacks and pogrom against Chinese communities too! Assimilation!

Thank you Roy! you really hit the wiffle ball off the Tee this time! homerun!

Roy,

As you are well aware, I try my best not to attack anyone with whom I might disagree, but I would like to point out to you that the ability for you to enjoy your (might I guess, paid?) vacation days, as well as your relatively short working hours, as well as your lunch and break times, and your employment pension/benefit package, ALL comes to you, courtesy of hundreds upon hundreds of working men, women, and children too... who GAVE UP THEIR LIVES IN BLOODSHED, right about the time that poster was made, so that working people could finally enjoy benefits... like you are able to do now.

Your vacation comes to you, courtesy of them.

Happy Labor Day.

Back to the banjo...

What about those who take saws to the top rungs of the ladders to prevent people from reaching the top?

On this, the anniversary of a woman's right to vote, I'd like you to ask any woman you know about glass ceilings and sawed-off ladders.

The fact is that this country's ladders have been sawed off from the top moreso than from the bottom. As you mentioned,Roy, it IS natural for people to want to better themselves. It is also a natural fact that there is usually someone on top with a saw in hand, often in the form of discriminatory legislation, trying to maintain power by restricting access to the benefits enjoyed by those at the top. Isn't this what the American revolution was about in the first place? Divestment of power from the hands of the few to the hands of the many?

While we all love Horatio Alger stories, the sad fact is that those books can still be found in the library, filed under "fiction".

Sean--- In an expansion of your thoughts, it's too bad that today's conservatives seemed to have abandoned or forgotten the "Gipper's" maxim-- a rising tide raises all boats, and exchanged it for a Rand Paul--property over people or a Tom Tancredo-- I hate you.

By the way Roy, we all are very appreciative of those of you who work in government and education by furthering our collective and progressive and individualistic efforts at self attainment through education.

Stan

I'm not meaning to get in a partisan political debate, as a teacher, that's not my place.

I was just pointing out a missing part of Roy's argument and an assumption that is very easy to make as a member of the dominant social group.

If david and charles koch are at the top of the ladder, cut that shit down and give politics back to the people.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =129425186

Weren't the pyramids built by slaves?

Jim DeVito wrote:Weren't the pyramids built by slaves?

Unrelated note to this discussion, but I thought I caught a bit of a show on History Channel or PBS about this that said it was NOT built by slaves! It was actually built by proud laborers who represented various trade guilds and their marks (signatures of sorts?) could be found all over the pyramids. I think there were some slaves for sure but I guess a newer theory (maybe newer?) is that it wasn't as if the emporers enslaved their entire people to this cause. This was something core to the people's beliefs and it seems some were very proud to do it. Wild.

http://harvardmagazine.com/2003/07/who- ... e-pyramids


Back to the regularly scheduled heated rhetoric.