Imagine the picture, a meeting in a hall, cafe, hired university/college room or other venue, full of what are apparently socialist activists and interested parties and then, the shrill shriek from the mouth of some Vanessa Redgrave, Lindsey German or Alex Callinicos type speaking out to the audience. In this meeting there are a handful of working class people and then the rest, outnumbering those working class people, are the middle class activists. It does not always play out this way, more often than not nowadays on the “left” there can be a meeting composed of a majority of working class people, entirely controlled by a handful of middle class people. What is wrong with this picture?
What we have here is not just confined to meetings but the “left” as a whole. In this scenario we have, in either instance, the middle class speaking to us and controlling us. The middle class knowing what is best for us thickos, for the politically unsophisticated (or so they seem to think). They control where we march, which campaigns we fight, the terms and conditions of why we fight; how we fight and the methods we use, they negotiate for us, speak for us and condemn us when we do not tow the line. True to their nature, they are self-appointed and this is by virtue of the class they belong to.
They control us by telling us what to do and how to do it but also by patronising us and presenting false and caricatured impressions of us. They also blind a lot of working class people and con them into being their minions and followers, those who tow their line.
If you do not do what they want you to do they exclude you, point the finger, sabotage independent initiatives, create and spread lies and disinformation, use other working class people against you, collude with the state and their agents in the media against you and moralise to you.
This works to the advantage of the middle classes as that is in their nature, to control and mediate as that is their appointed position within the ruling class. The upper class give out the orders and own everything, the middle class dispense those orders, mediate grievances (in a framework agreed with the upper class, including within the “left”) so that they can easily be controlled and, when necessary, dispensed with in favour of more unscrupulous, heavy handed and draconian measures. The middle class enjoy this position given to them, they are boot lickers, and they will never do anything which will rock the boat too much or else their position will be jeopardised. This is the inevitable result of their mass involvement and allowing them to take control of our movements, campaigns, groups and us as individuals whether mentally or physically. Our aspirations and fate are subordinate to theirs, our fate is then in their hands. This represents a bastardisation of the very basis of socialism.
We do not do what we do and believe what we believe because we feel as though we have a choice, we do it because we know there is no other way. We feel as though we have no choice, we have reached a breaking point where we do not look back. We do not do this out of moral revulsion to the system and the conditions it creates but for the middle class it is a choice for them and not a compulsion like it is for us. We do it because we have no options left but to fight for our class. We may have a bleak outlook and the future may indeed look bleak but we do what we do with a certain sense of optimism and hope which gives us a new impetus to fight and encourage others to do so. The middle class, whether intentionally or otherwise, suck this out of us with their conniving and controlling ways and when we have no sense of control of our own ‘movement’ it is severely demoralising and we often just give up. The middle class left have then won. They then have that little bit more control for which they set out to attain.
This middle class control is very off putting for those potential working class recruits who look at us and see what is going on. In short, the middle class are a hindrance to the growth of a working class movement.
Can they support us? They possibly could but it depends on the individual and even then they are few and far between. Can they be allowed to outnumber us? No! Can they be allowed to tell us what to do? No! Can they be allowed to set the agenda? No! Can they be allowed to dictate to us the conditions of our fightback? No! Can they be allowed to dictate our own lives to us and tell us the score? No!
We get involved because we do not want the middle class and upper class to tell us what to do. We want to eliminate their control over us because we are sick and tired of it. However so far, in getting involved in “left” and socialist politics today, we find ourselves entrenched and further thrown into their grip. We must break this grip with utmost urgency and as a matter of priority.
A working class movement should be made up of and controlled by the working class, a working class movement should be ours and working class struggles should work towards no aspirations other than our own. They call us “workerists” and so we must reclaim and embrace that term and use it against them.
We can take back what is ours from the dictators and their lackeys, so start now and reclaim socialism.
WORKERISTS UNITE!