[Marxism] Capitalist Ju$tice vs. A Socialist World

[bonnieweinstein via Marxism]

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Capitalist Ju$tice vs. A Socialist World
By Bonnie Weinstein
“Thinking outside the box” is a popular metaphor that means, “to think 
differently—from a different or new perspective.” It’s meant to encourage 
creative thinking—to find new or different ways to solve problems. 
But when it comes to the rationalization and justification of capitalism by the 
capitalist class, there is no “outside” of the box. 
When it comes to war, the capitalists say, “there has always been war—it’s 
human nature to be war-like.” When it comes to economic inequality they say, 
“there has always been a wealthy minority in power over the masses—the wealthy 
are on top because they are smarter, better, stronger. The poor are poor 
because they are inferior.” 
This is social Darwinism and it is beat into our heads from the time we are 
born. We are taught to believe that this is the way it is, has always been, and 
will always be. It’s what justifies Manifest Destiny, slavery and 
imperialism—the “great white hope” that is meant to “tame and/or slaughter the 
savages” and establish “civilization,”—i.e., white domination by force of 
violence. 
Capitalist Ju$tice is determined by income inequality
You may have noticed that the wealthy rarely go to jail and almost never get 
the death penalty or life without parole—these punishments are for the masses. 
Not for the capitalists.
In an August 31, 2018 New York Times article by Robert H. Frank titled, “How 
Rising Inequality Has Widened the Justice Gap,” the author states:
“Rising inequality has harmed low-income families not only by depriving them of 
a fair share of society’s income growth, but also in a more specific way: It 
has stacked the legal system even more heavily against them. According to a 
recent survey, more than 70 percent 
 of 
low-income American households had been involved in eviction cases, labor law 
cases, and other civil legal disputes during the preceding year, and in more 
than 80 percent 
 of 
those cases they lacked effective legal representation.”
That’s because in a capitalist society like ours it takes money to have 
adequate legal representation—just as it takes money to eat, have a home, 
clothes, medical care, education.
The article goes on: 
“Many top earners are not only talented and hardworking, but they are also 
lucky to have grown up in privileged circumstances. And it is one thing to say 
that someone who is ten percent more skillful should be paid ten percent more. 
But in today’s winner-take-all marketplace, those who are only one percent more 
talented often earn thousands-of-times more. These observations are difficult 
to square with anyone’s conception of a just society.”
This is because capitalism—by its very structure—is designed to protect the 
privileges of the wealthy by any means necessary. That is the purpose of the 
courts, the police and the military. After all, workers are talented and 
hardworking too, but we are not adequately compensated for it.
The economic structure of capitalism and the laws created and enforced by 
capitalists are all designed to allow the wealthy to accumulate the profits 
that the working masses produce. 
Workers are only compensated for our labor by what we demand and can win 
through cooperative actions such mass demonstrations, union organizing and 
strikes. As revolutionary socialist James P. Cannon once put it, “The ethic of 
capitalism is: ‘From each whatever you can get out of him—to each whatever he 
can grab.’”1
Even the so-called democratic electoral system is rigged in favor of the 
wealthy. It’s a system that allows working people to vote for one wealthy 
representative of the capitalist class over another. We do not get to vote on 
laws, or who sits on the Supreme Court. We have no say over the cost of credit 
card interest rates, gas and electric rates, education, food or housing, etc. 
We have no say over the costs to us, of any of the basic necessities of life. 
Capitalism is democracy for the wealthy and dictatorship over the working 
class. 
Capitalist pillaging and destruction of the world
Capitalism is a stage of social evolution that has outlived its usefulness. It 
destroys the world in order to increase private profits for the wealthy. 
The gap between the rich and the poor has grown astronomically in the last few 
decades. Not just in the United States but all over the world. And it is 
reinforced by massive military interventions—led by the United States and its 
allies—across the globe. 
Natural resources wherever 

[Marxism] Capitalist Ju$tice vs. A Socialist World

[bonnieweinstein via Marxism]

  POSTING RULES & NOTES  
#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.
#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern.
*

Capitalist Ju$tice vs. A Socialist World
By Bonnie Weinstein
http://www.socialistviewpoint.org

“Thinking outside the box” is a popular metaphor that means, “to think 
differently—from a different or new perspective.” It’s meant to encourage 
creative thinking—to find new or different ways to solve problems. 

But when it comes to the rationalization and justification of capitalism by the 
capitalist class, there is no “outside” of the box. 

When it comes to war, the capitalists say, “there has always been war—it’s 
human nature to be war-like.” When it comes to economic inequality they say, 
“there has always been a wealthy minority in power over the masses—the wealthy 
are on top because they are smarter, better, stronger. The poor are poor 
because they are inferior.” 

This is social Darwinism and it is beat into our heads from the time we are 
born. We are taught to believe that this is the way it is, has always been, and 
will always be. It’s what justifies Manifest Destiny, slavery and 
imperialism—the “great white hope” that is meant to “tame and/or slaughter the 
savages” and establish “civilization,”—i.e., white domination by force of 
violence. 

Capitalist Ju$tice is determined by income inequality
You may have noticed that the wealthy rarely go to jail and almost never get 
the death penalty or life without parole—these punishments are for the masses. 
Not for the capitalists.

In an August 31, 2018 New York Times article by Robert H. Frank titled, “How 
Rising Inequality Has Widened the Justice Gap,” the author states:

“Rising inequality has harmed low-income families not only by depriving them of 
a fair share of society’s income growth, but also in a more specific way: It 
has stacked the legal system even more heavily against them. According to a 
recent survey, more than 70 percent 
 of 
low-income American households had been involved in eviction cases, labor law 
cases, and other civil legal disputes during the preceding year, and in more 
than 80 percent 
 of 
those cases they lacked effective legal representation.”

That’s because in a capitalist society like ours it takes money to have 
adequate legal representation—just as it takes money to eat, have a home, 
clothes, medical care, education.

The article goes on: 

“Many top earners are not only talented and hardworking, but they are also 
lucky to have grown up in privileged circumstances. And it is one thing to say 
that someone who is ten percent more skillful should be paid ten percent more. 
But in today’s winner-take-all marketplace, those who are only one percent more 
talented often earn thousands-of-times more. These observations are difficult 
to square with anyone’s conception of a just society.”

This is because capitalism—by its very structure—is designed to protect the 
privileges of the wealthy by any means necessary. That is the purpose of the 
courts, the police and the military. After all, workers are talented and 
hardworking too, but we are not adequately compensated for it.

The economic structure of capitalism and the laws created and enforced by 
capitalists are all designed to allow the wealthy to accumulate the profits 
that the working masses produce. 

Workers are only compensated for our labor by what we demand and can win 
through cooperative actions such mass demonstrations, union organizing and 
strikes. As revolutionary socialist James P. Cannon once put it, “The ethic of 
capitalism is: ‘From each whatever you can get out of him—to each whatever he 
can grab.’”1

Even the so-called democratic electoral system is rigged in favor of the 
wealthy. It’s a system that allows working people to vote for one wealthy 
representative of the capitalist class over another. We do not get to vote on 
laws, or who sits on the Supreme Court. We have no say over the cost of credit 
card interest rates, gas and electric rates, education, food or housing, etc. 
We have no say over the costs to us, of any of the basic necessities of life. 

Capitalism is democracy for the wealthy and dictatorship over the working 
class. 

Capitalist pillaging and destruction of the world
Capitalism is a stage of social evolution that has outlived its usefulness. It 
destroys the world in order to increase private profits for the wealthy. 

The gap between the rich and the poor has grown astronomically in the last few 
decades. Not just in the United States but all over the world. And it is 
reinforced by massive military interventions—led by the United States and its