Leah Foote
Sociology 111
Dan Hall Proletariats and Bourgeoisie’s The simple difference between the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat) is that the ruling class consists of people who work for others, while the ruling class has people work for them. As is then obvious, this means that the majority of Americans are working class. Because the working class out-numbers the ruling class, the working class actual holds the power, if they unite. They can unite on political, social, or employment issues by withholding their labor and can be very effective in causing change. According to “Party for Socialism and Liberation, the working class holds the ability to create a new society. It produces the wealth, it has the training and, most of all, and it is the vast majority of humanity ( (What is the working class?). I believe what usually happens though is that the ruling class, whether it is employers or governments, proposes and adopts policies, which are beneficial to the rulers and not so beneficial to the workers. The rulers, who have the power, will naturally vote to implement anything that benefits them. For a variety of reasons, the working class allows this to happen. They have elected officials to speak for them and their interests, and trust that that is what is being done. How many people actually keep track of how those officials are voting on a particular issue? They may too busy to keep track of all that the ruling class is doing. Maybe they’re not financially sound enough to be able to hire an attorney when they feel they’ve been wronged. Being unable to have the time or the money to mobilize forces, that may be spread across the country, they fall into a child’s peaceful slumber, confident that their needs are being met, or at least hoping so. The working class has become either too lazy, or too ignorant of their power. The result is that the interests of the powerful continue to be advanced at the expense of the weak. There are examples of the working class uniting for a common cause. Factory workers go on strike. Concerned citizens picket at abortion clinics. However, the staying power of the average citizen is not usually enough to affect change. The ruling class sits back, watches the action, and is not really affected. There is always someone willing to cross the picket line to earn the dollars that the striking workers are missing out on. One recent example of an attempt to change society is the “occupy wall street” movement. People from all across the country are involved in this attempt to equalize the wealth in this country, and have been met with little or no change to the system. There are websites representing citizens from almost every major city in the U.S. that are seeking to recruit the working class to stand up and fight for their rights. Another recent example is the “Tea Party” movement. Originally meant to advocate for a reduction in federal spending, the organization is not cohesive and has no central leadership. This does not help to meet its goals. Claiming to be a “tea partyer” has become just a fashionable thing to do. In my opinion, the initial goals of this movement are doomed to failure due to the lack of commitment from a large portion of its members. Like most movements for change, they have failed to recognize the power they could have if they had a more dedicated base. I personally believe that the average citizen doesn’t have the stomach for the fight. The time and money involved in fighting is not available to most people, who just do what they can to earn a buck to feed their families. Although they may know instinctually that change needs to be made, they are mostly content to sit back and allow the status quo. And this is exactly what the ruling class is counting on. In almost any battle of time and cost, the ruling class wins. Bibliography
"What is the working class?" Feb 2014. Party for Socialism and Liberation. Web. 4 March 2014.