Someone do something about political memes on the general meme communities please
You want more of them?
The communist version of this meme has someone with a whip and sword standing behind them and telling them to work for the benefit of the people or die
This is called projection, especially since capitalism itself was built with ongoing slavery and genocide. The only people who should fear communists are the bourgeoisie and their running dogs.
Not everyone in capitalism is a winner, and that’s ok. The big advantage is that the losers are usually offered the opportunity to work and make a living.
The alternative is crossing your fingers and hoping the government (or whatever body is responsible for distributing pay) gives you what you need. If they don’t, tough luck, there’s nothing you can do about it.
As opposed to under capitalism where you have to cross your fingers and hoping that one of those winners will offer you a job with living wage, while another doesn’t charge you an arm and leg for housing.
Okay hate on capitalism, fair enough
But equating it to literal slavery like we’ve had in the past (and still have in some parts of the world) seems problematic to me
we’ve had in the past
we definitely still have slavery in America. Like, in America. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of companies that outsource their slavery to other countries and then ship the product here so we can pretend it’s not made by slaves, but plenty of companies skip the middle man and just use slaves here
“Experience demonstrates that there may be a slavery of wages only a little less galling and crushing in its effects than chattel slavery, and that this slavery of wages must go down with the other.”
— Frederick Douglass
I suspect that most other actual slaves would not entirely agree with that sentiment
Frederick Douglass the famous non-slave
Your original stance was that it is “problematic” to equate them. Do you think it was problematic for Fredrick Douglass to equate them? If not then your original position has to change.
We don’t have polling on prior chattel slave views on wage slavery, but since you’re making a habit of just going with your gut, I’ll do the same. I’d wager most prior chattel slaves would’ve been more than happy to abolish all forms of slavery (including wage slavery).
Douglass died in 1895 when the standard of living was wildly lower than what it is today, its not an equivalent comparison
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe evidence points towards the pyramids being built by paid workers, and I think some even got to be buried in their own smaller pyramids
Correct, conditions of the workers of the Pyramids and Temples
-8 h per day, 6 days a week
-Free housing, food and a small garden for themselves and their families
-Medical assistance and care in sick leave due to illness and accident.
-Exempt from paying taxes
-Care and assistance for the old ex-workers.
(better than today in most countries)
Slaves (mostly prisoners of war and criminals) were naturally also used, but only for basic jobs and assistance. The Pharao knew very well that if he wants a job well done, he cannot get it with slaves and in poor conditions, but with well-cared and happy professionals.
Correct, except smaller pyramids, those were also for the kings only, workers building pyramids had their own cementaries iirc.
But knowledge of this fact actually makes this meme even more relatable - the people in it were closer to wage slaves like us.
