Karl Marx Was Right

Karl Marx was a philosopher with interests, among others, in the relationship between money (Capital) and the workers that produce that capital (Labor), not the guy responsible for the all those governments that US media refers to as "Marxist regimes." One of his concerns involved how those whose work creates capital rationalize their relationship with the owners of the means of production.

For Karl Marx, this is the beginning of the revolutionary process: simply put, when workers understand how they are being screwed by the bosses, they will do something about it. Before Labor reaches this point of self-awareness, they exhibit what Marx termed "false consciousness." In this state, workers accept their oppression because they believe the Capitalist system itself is the natural order of things: Rich folks running things and workers working for them. The few who successfully negotiate the transition from laborer to capitalist are proof of the correctness of that natural order. In the 20th century, European philosophers modified Marx's original thesis under the rubric "hegemony," but it still works basically the same way.

The Tea Party is not spontaneous eruption of middle and working class desires, but rather a co-optation of legitimate concerns (such as, the economic disaster of Bush II) and illegitimate concerns (such as the racist objections to "one of them" in the White House) by well-funded elites in DC and Wall Street. Freedom Works and other such organizations offer to the disaffected simple solutions that avoid confrontation with the true nature of their oppression. It's the Wizard of Oz come to life, where Tea Party anger deflects attention away from the men behind the curtains. The greatest obstacle to a solution to our current economic mess is that those affected have confused who are their advocates. Tea Partiers direct their anger at those who really do have an interest in fair and equitable solutions to our problems (Democrats, unions, liberals) rather than at those who use false enemies (such as the debt and deficit spending in a recession) to deflect attention from those who want to continue the skewed transfer of wealth from the workers to the capitalists. It's enough to make me believe that, in this instance, Marx was right. And so was PT Barnum.