The question to which I still do not know the answer is: can oppressed people ever extract more than concessions from the oppressor class?
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Generally by oppressed people getting together and withholding their labor, which is generally the most leverage they have over oppressors.
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Social (i.e. not-strictly-economic) forms of oppression are different, and in that case oppressed classes (e.g., Christians)...
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Can in fact become oppressor classes. But overall, the masses remain oppressed, and extract concessions that make things less shitty.
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Does that ever really change? Or is it just a cycle of oppression and concessions where hopefully the concessions are greater every time?
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Do we reach a steady state where we vaciliate between narrow poles, bc people are comfortable enough in their oppression?
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Is it always about creating large buffer classes (once: a class of free "lower middle class" whites; now: a slightly more diverse middle)?
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Or can we ever flip it so that a broad-based majority is in power? If the 80% is in power, what prevents them from impoverishing the 20%?
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Is there a large enough class that to satisfy that class, we must of needs satisfy the entire society? Racism says no.
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I really return to the concept that the society itself must stand against hegemony. If there are a number of potential hegemonies...
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And in order to avoid being dominated ourselves, we fight against dominance-in-general... that seems to me the surest road.
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That's why I believe in intersectional social justice---which recognizes class as part of intersectionality---as the way forward.
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It seems to me that if we can all agree that hegemony itself is bad, we all have an interest in defeating hegemony because almost all of us
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Have experienced oppression in one way or another. That seems to me to be the way forward for everyone, and the next advance for democracy.
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Democracy makes the counter-hegemonic state possible by ensuring everyone has power over the state. Otherwise, of course, the state...
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Which nominally ensures hegemonies do not form, itself has to be given hegemonic power over society to create said assurances...
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And so of course the state will eventually exercise its power against some class of people.
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But aha! If the INSTITUTIONS that comprise the state are themselves counter-hegemonic, it is always in each local actor's interest...
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Not to establish hegemony, because the establishment of hegemony requires the dissolution of order imposed by the state.
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And the order imposed by the state is itself counter-hegemonic. If the state always stands against hegemony, as soon as hegemony forms
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The state balances the scales. I'm not sure of the mechanics of how such a counter-hegemonic state can be achieved...
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(I have some ideas, which are at present sadly unfeasible)
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But it does seem to me to be fundamentally a smart, timely thing to fight for: democracy that institutionally sets itself against hegemony.
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And I think that can be achieved in my lifetime. (Of course, all young revolutionaries think the Revolution will happen in their lifetimes.)
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End of conversation
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