The middle class is under constant attack from the left, but also from other radical groups. It’s a bit tacky to be middle class, a bit anxious and stupid, like the sheep in the pasture who don’t understand anything and just go with the flow. And it is often considered right and proper to criticize this group of people. They have somehow earned it. Even though most people are actually in this group. So what is it really about? There must be something more behind it.
The ultimate goal of the left is to create some kind of social chaos that could lead to upheaval, thereby overthrowing the current power, and replacing it with its own system.
Consequently, if you are going to create social chaos, it is not good to have a stable and hard-working class of people, who are also, through diligence and work, constantly getting better off.
That is the opposite of chaos. These people contribute to law and order, they are the enemies of chaos and upheaval. The middle class is the very reason why there was no revolution according to Marx’s prophecies. The workers were simply getting better and better, until they got tired of the romance of revolution. No wonder the life of Average Joe is a thorn in the side of the left.
The middle class lives well, they bring children into the world and believe in the future. They get involved in the neighbourhood and the community, and through conversation, planning and trust, they solve everyday problems and build a better environment. It’s almost as if they can manage without politicians and bureaucrats, at least on the regional level.
This kind of burgeoning wealth is nice to have on paper, but it threatens both the left and politics at large. After all, these people are self-sufficient, they don’t need upheaval or political guardians.
That’s why it’s good to have a little crime in the neighbourhood, and it’s good when it moves in strangers who challenge the dynamics of community building. Graffiti, vandalism and riots also further the aims of the left and politicians. It shouldn’t feel completely safe to walk around at night. Worry and fear are more important than we might think.
The left is aiming for upheaval, and the politicians are keen to help solve the problems, they don’t want independent areas that can manage on their own.
We see how the left and politicians on the whole are striving for similar goals. Is politics itself a left-wing idea?
Yes, there is a lot in this, the more that is regulated and controlled, the more power to the politicians. So they strive to interfere as much as possible, and this can be perceived as leftist, absolutely. There are also certain right-wing tendencies, including libertarian ones, which are also waiting for a kind of social collapse. But more from Margaret Thatcher’s point of view, that: The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money. The belief that the welfare state cannot last forever, eventually the money of the rightful taxpayers runs out, and out of this chaos a new society could be built, a more free society. In competition with a lot of other forces, of course.
It is remarkable how many different groups strive for chaos. And so few who want to build independent neighbourhoods and municipalities under their own responsibility. Not even the middle class has the courage and sense to understand its unique position. They are the bearers of society, they are the builders, without them we would have nothing. Countries with a small clique of rich people and a large class of poor people are to be found in too many places in the world, and these are societies that are often dysfunctional, at least in our eyes.
The middle class is a unique phenomenon that was born sometime in the 17-1800s in Europe and later North America. And the new class contributed to a kind of organic distribution of wealth, as well as class travel and movement along the social ladder. By sheer numbers, they could ensure through negotiation and pressure that wages were fair, and that businesses felt accountable to someone other than the government.
Nor is it in the interests of big business to have a strong group of people who can take responsibility for themselves and negotiate higher incomes, more leave and holidays. So global capital is also taking a stand against middle-class ideals, and we see a huge amount of propaganda in advertising about being different, colourful, single, fulfilling your ego etc – and less about building a family, working together and strengthening your neighbourhood.
There are many different ways to break up the middle class. And it becomes almost a Sisyphean task to keep order and rebuild everything that is torn down, when it is so much easier to destroy. And if it goes far enough, the upheaval eventually becomes necessary, because society becomes irreparable. Institutions, politicians and organisations have to be replaced, because the whole fabric of society has been perverted. The proponents of chaos win. And don’t forget, in this upheaval there will be many different groups who want to realise their respective goals, some of them have been listed here. And it is highly uncertain whether these new visions of society coincide with our own dreams or ideals.
