# A Lack of Working Class Solidarity is THE Problem By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-04-20 As defined by Marx, a class is a group that shares a common economic interest, is conscious of those interests, and engages in collective action to advance those interests. Most Americans are working class, meaning they derive most of their income from direct labor. Some working-class work menial jobs, some are engaged in trades, and some are professionals. All share a common economic interest. Few are conscious of those shared interests, and almost none are involved in collective action as a class to advance those interests. Why is this the case? There are a multitude of reasons. One reason is that Marx is largely misunderstood in America. Because the Soviet Union used Marx as the philosophical justification for its regime, and the United States was against the Soviet Union, it was deduced by many in the United States that to be against the Soviet Union required that one be against Marx. The shallowness of this thinking should be immediately apparent. Perhaps even more importantly, within the United States, class has been presented in a completely meaningless way. Class in America is often presented in terms of lower, middle, and upper classes. These categories are not classes at all. They are simply demarcation lines on an income distribution. There are no distinct class interests between America’s lower and middle classes. Those two groups and most of the upper class have no distinct class interests. There are distinct class differences between the working class, which comprises around 97-98% of the population in America, and the capitalist class, which includes the top 1-2%. Understanding Marx does not make one a communist. It doesn’t necessarily make one a socialist. It makes one skeptical of false consciousness and capitalism. Partitioning income levels and calling those “classes” is a purposeful act of false consciousness that precludes the necessary class consciousness for action. Capitalists benefit from poverty. It creates a perpetual pool of cheap labor, and the fear of poverty helps keep the workforce in line. Capitalists do not want to fix the problem of poverty. They benefit too much from it. Plus, persistent poverty enables them to make public charitable acts that further stroke their egos. Poverty persists due to a persistent lack of solidarity among the working class. The concern of poverty is a working-class concern. Government action is required to address the problems of poverty and other working-class concerns. The government will act per the demands of the working class when those in the working class develop a class consciousness and realize that there are no class differences between the lower, middle, and most of the upper class. Each working-class member works for a living and wants the benefits of their labor in a civil society. Only one class doesn’t work for their livelihood and can afford to avoid all social consequences of their actions. They claim every benefit for creating jobs and eschew any responsibility for environmental degradation and economic exploitation. Capitalists fear that the working class will gain the class consciousness that will make our government address these longstanding concerns. Working class solidarity is the first step along this path. #### Related Items [[Class]] [[Work]] [[Marxism]] [[Society]] [[Solidarity]] [[Poverty]] [[Capitalism]] [[American]]