And the revolution

I did not think that this would be about Sanders as much, because I am assuming - and it may be a stretch - that modern socialists are more likely to seek change through elections and legal means rather than rising up and shooting the nobility.

At the same time, Susan Sarandon's comment that some people think Trump's election would bring about the revolution, implying that is a good thing, brings it close to home.

There are enough problems in the world that I can see why there are people who feel like burning the whole place down is the only answer. Under these circumstances, the popularity of both Trump and Sanders makes sense, as they channel anger with the establishment. I still can't find that to be the right answer.

When you burn the whole place down, people get injured. They get left homeless. They have difficulty finding food. That's staying within the metaphor, but I see literal devastating consequences to an actual revolution and to the Trump presidency that could inspire it.

If there were a temporary period of hardship that would resolve into this superior society where the workers control the production and partake of the profits, that would be great, but there is no reason to believe that.

There were abuses by the Czars in Russia, but then there were abuses by the ones who replaced them too. There was still great poverty and murder and dissidents being sent to Siberia. Then that seemed to get better, and organized crime took over.

In France there was a true spirit of revolution and equality. There was a firm resolve to end slavery. Then a racist bourgeois type in the middle seizes power, and it led to years of wars. Eventually they did get a more equitable society, but it was a messy path.

There are many examples of this, and many of the conflicts are deeply rooted in colonialism, and especially based in the desire of some to be able to make lots of money in ways that require a lot of manual labor, which they do not want to do.

That is certainly something capitalistic, and opposing it is reasonable. It's just once that you turn a class into enemies, that class has a funny way of getting bigger.

One thing that has been interesting to see with Affirmative Action is that while it was widely assumed to be a program to help Black people, the biggest beneficiaries have been white women. If that's what happens when you are trying to make things more equal, what do you think might happen when the people who are openly racist are in charge?


Related post:
http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2012/04/you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think.html