Richard Robbins in his book “Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism” describes capitalism and its effects on society. In Chapter two, Robbins theorizes that the “anatomy of the working class” under capitalism can be described by its important characterizations. I will discuss the characterizations: segmentation, discipline, and militant to reveal what they mean for the working class and their significant role in capitalism.
To begin, capitalism imposed and reinforced segmentation as a characteristic of the working class. Capitalist divided and valued a worker based on their “race, religion, ethnicity, age, and gender” this lead to a “labor aristocracy” that uses discrimination to force workers into, “accept[ing] lower wages and less …show more content…
This character of resistance is significant and natural; “people do not readily accept discipline and control and will seek a way to resist, either directly or indirectly” (52). This has been manifested in various ways like protests, unions, social revolutions, and moral critiques to more indirect and creative ways like in stories and spirit possession (52-53). This gives an outlet to the tension between laborers and capitalist and led to the creation of socialism, capitalism’s greatest rival.
Allan Johnson wrote “Privilege, Power, and Difference” as a way to view and examine systems of privilege through history. In our reading, Johnson discussed the capitalist “matrix of domination.” This matrix or network of interlinking aspects of capitalism and its economic principles created and promoted systems of inequality and privilege. The main of which is the class system followed by sexism and …show more content…
Johnson discusses that this ideology of being superior to others branches to gender inequality as well. This system has been used to devalue and exploit women as a source of cheap labor from the very beginning of industrialized capitalism in Great Britain. Johnson looks at these systems: racism, sexism, and classism, not individually, but connected and unified by privilege, oppression, and capitalism. This is why Johnson describes it as a “matrix of domination,” they all fed into each other and are connected. This is why we can never be rid of one of these systems if we do not do away with the
To begin, capitalism imposed and reinforced segmentation as a characteristic of the working class. Capitalist divided and valued a worker based on their “race, religion, ethnicity, age, and gender” this lead to a “labor aristocracy” that uses discrimination to force workers into, “accept[ing] lower wages and less …show more content…
This character of resistance is significant and natural; “people do not readily accept discipline and control and will seek a way to resist, either directly or indirectly” (52). This has been manifested in various ways like protests, unions, social revolutions, and moral critiques to more indirect and creative ways like in stories and spirit possession (52-53). This gives an outlet to the tension between laborers and capitalist and led to the creation of socialism, capitalism’s greatest rival.
Allan Johnson wrote “Privilege, Power, and Difference” as a way to view and examine systems of privilege through history. In our reading, Johnson discussed the capitalist “matrix of domination.” This matrix or network of interlinking aspects of capitalism and its economic principles created and promoted systems of inequality and privilege. The main of which is the class system followed by sexism and …show more content…
Johnson discusses that this ideology of being superior to others branches to gender inequality as well. This system has been used to devalue and exploit women as a source of cheap labor from the very beginning of industrialized capitalism in Great Britain. Johnson looks at these systems: racism, sexism, and classism, not individually, but connected and unified by privilege, oppression, and capitalism. This is why Johnson describes it as a “matrix of domination,” they all fed into each other and are connected. This is why we can never be rid of one of these systems if we do not do away with the