Modern society needs to be based on the abolition of privileges at the
base of the social relations in society. Modern equality in a democratic
body politic is based on the objective criteria of membership in the body
politic and is supposed to accord equal rights and duties to all, without
regard to sex, color of skin, national origin, wealth, ability, age,
lifestyle, etc.
US society arose in struggle against British colonialism and feudal rule
by kings. Under feudalism, privileges were accorded based on the divine
right of kings. Serfs and other members of society were forbidden to
question this divine right and kings had the privilege of doing whatever
they pleased. Only those who were part of the hereditary aristocracy were
given this privilege.
Feudal society was replaced by capitalist society, where privilege based
on individual wealth prevails. There is now a so-called "natural
aristocracy," the capitalist owners of the means of production, who have
placed themselves over and above society. As a class, they make all the
decisions and accord privileges based on who agrees with, or serves them.
The American revolution served a positive role in overcoming British
colonialism and rule by kings. But it did not in any way solve the issue of
rights and equality. It was not a social revolution. What it did was replace
one group of privileged rulers with another.
This reality is reflected in the Declaration of Independence. It states
that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the
pursuit of Happiness."
It is not an accident that rights are presented as something given--in
this case by the Creator--rather than something which exists because people
are human beings. Something given can be taken away, by rulers acting in the
name of god or the almighty dollar. Capitalist society reveals that the
privileges contained in the phrase life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness, are the liberty to own private property (means of production) and
to pursue the exploitation of other human beings, for the benefit of the
individual owner. Privileges are based on ownership of private property and
rights are denied to those who do not own private property--at that time
women, Black people, Indians, poor whites, etc.
This content, also contained in the Constitution, embodies the social
relations at the base of US society then and now--where a handful of private
owners of the means of production hold privileged positions in society.
Their ownership of the means of production enables the monopoly capitalists
not only to steal all the wealth socially produced, but also to hold the
reins of power, to govern and decide the affairs of society. It is the basis
for an inherently unequal society that blocks the ability of human beings to
affirm their rights as human beings and in so doing create a humane society.
It is the human right of all members of society to participate in
governing their own society. Human beings have the right to exercise control
over their lives--a right which is being violated today. The struggle to
eliminate social privileges remains incomplete. It is up to the working
class, at the head of all the oppressed, to carry this struggle through to
the end, to create a new society where human rights are guaranteed for all.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
