Bromma

Despite what radical intellectuals often think, workers know quite a bit about where they are situated within the class society (hard to believe, i know!). Thus, it's typical for members of the worker elite to identify themselves as middle class, though of course some workers may adopt that term merely as an inspiration. For the most part, workers decide that they are middle class on a very practical basis: their distinct, all-around preferential status as wage earners, consumers, and "citizens." These workers believe themselves to be separate in essential ways from the proletariat. We should take this perception seriously! These notes take a critical view of the role of the worker elite under capitalism. That doesn't mean I hate middle class workers. I'm one myself. I don't hate intellectuals or farmers or shopkeepers either. Middle class people aren't free under this system. And ultimately we can make individual choices; we can resist capitalism or not. What I have learned to hate are the illusions and the opportunism that go along with middle class privilege. These are what continuously persude the worker elite to join the other middle classes in embracing capitalism. They also motivate the class to manipulate, dominate, and strnagle the freedom struggles of other workers for its own benefit. The main force for revolution will come from within the working class. I believe that today, more than ever. But it will not come from the privileged worker elite. That's a deadly lie that has helped destroy the hopes of generations of radical activists and, more important, the hopes of generations of oppressed people."—Bromma, from the author's preface.

Notes on the "Labor Aristocracy"

The Worker Elite e-book

Matthew Lyons

Its Going Its Going Down

This booklet addresses the origins and rise of the so-called "alt-right," the fascistic movement that grabbed headlines in the months leading up to the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. The first essay, Matthew Lyons's "CTRL-ALT-DELETE," is a thorough survey of the origins of the alt-right, a look at its constituent parts and beliefs at the present time, as well as observations about how its future relationship with the Trump administration may play out. Of particular interest, Lyons draws attention to the importance of sexism and misogyny within this movement, to its long-term "metapolitical" strategy, as well as to the tensions between the disparate groups that have found their home under its banner. Supplementing "CTRL-ALT-DELETE" is an essay written by comrades from the Its Going Down website, "The Rich Kids of Fascism." This is a view from activists currently involved in opposing both the far right and the state, on the streets. As its title would imply, "Rich Kids" focuses on the elitist class politics of the alt right, and how that sets it apart from other far right phenomenon like boneheads or militias. Looking at the alt-right's fortunes over the past few years, IGD show the role played by both the media, and white racist fears about the ongoing struggles of Black people and immigrants, in feeding this threat. An appendix, "Notes on Trump," by Bromma, serves not so much as a counterpoint, as a contextualization. Not directly addressing the alt-right itself, Bromma's Notes posit that the election of Trump and the rise of the far right are not simple accidents of history, nor the result of some single failure on our side or success on theirs, but are conjoined expressions of a deep shift within the world economy. As he argues, "What's coming into view, semi-hidden underneath the frenzied soap opera of reactionary populism, is that the tide of globalization has crested and started to recede." The alt right in one expression of this reactionary moment. We must oppose them, but also prepare ourselves to oppose what might come next. Understanding one's enemy can only help in this regard, and indeed a thorough understanding of an opposing political force can also help us prepare for future far right iterations. That is why this booklet is being offered now. A tool for work that needs doing. Let's get started.

Bromma

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