Does the Working Class Matter in American Politics?

It seems that the working class is having a lessening impact on American politics over time, why is that? One could point to the beginning of American democracy in its foundation. The founding of America had many conflicting sides, however, all sides agreed that the working class should not be the class that has the most power. The reason why is that it was not the working class that founded America, it was the land-owning capitalist class fighting back against feudalist colonial aggression.

What ultimately happened was that the working class was given concessions, aka the bill of rights so it didn’t seem as if the working class had no power at all. What this means in the modern American political landscape is that since the very beginning, the working class has not been the primary benefactor of governmental action. It also means that since the beginning the American working class has been given illusions of choice and democracy.

Modern Day Illusions

However what is the illusion of choice and democracy in the modern day? Some say it is voting or a lack of governmental regulations. From another perspective, one could say that the entire system in and of itself is the illusion of choice. From this perspective, one could see that in almost every aspect of the American political system, that are machinations set up for the working class to either fail or win in a way that ultimately doesn’t matter.

Let’s take the two-party duopoly for a second. It is very clear that no matter how much either party attempts to communicate that they represent the working class and marginalized identities, there are mountains of evidence that prove that they do not. The simplest way to understand this is to look at their funding. Of course, this article will get to why a politician can even be funded by a corporation at all, but that will come later.  Since Biden is the current acting president his funding can stand as an example.

The Material Interests of the Elite

Before he became the President of the United States, Joe Biden received a lot of money from many different sources to fund this campaign. According to the money.org, a website that lets you see funding, Joe Biden received around $27,844,905 in funding from lawyers and lobbying groups, $3,799,937 from the real estate industry, and a whopping $568,906,736 in what are basically donations. These donations were lined with billionaire pockets as well.  Forbes had this to say about Biden’s funding “About 25% of America’s billionaires donated to his election efforts, either directly or through a spouse, according to an analysis of records filed with the Federal Election Commission. By contrast, Donald Trump received money from only 14% of American billionaires.”

All of this is to say that the material interests of Joe Biden, who is also a millionaire himself, is with the economic and political elite. Biden is supposedly the “nice one”, but he had more billionaires funding his campaign. The reason this is a bad thing is that billionaires view politics like any other investment opportunity. They only fund those who will protect their interests and bring more profit from their investments.  Biden is a white-bread neoliberal that is comfortable with the status quo.

Class Contradictions

All of that is to say that even in the highest levels of American politics, the material interests of the capitalist class dominate every decision that is made. What this means is that the American government has never worked in the material interests of the working class. Any level of comfort the working class has now was fought for by the working class. These “gains” were given as a concession from the American government and the capitalist class who owns it.

For example, the 8-hour work week, child labor laws, and even the 5-day work week were all won through active class struggle against the capitalist class and given as a concession. The reason why the working class has to do this is that it is not the working class that owns the American government, it is the capitalist class that owns the government. This is why the 1% rarely ever pays taxes, and during almost every disaster they get richer and the poor get poorer.

Scientific Consensus

On top of all this, there are many studies that have similar conclusions. For example, a famous Cambridge study in 2014 also concluded as much.

These results suggest that reality is best captured by mixed theories in which both individual economic elites and organized interest groups (including corporations, largely owned and controlled by wealthy elites) play a substantial part in affecting public policy, but the general public has little or no independent influence.

This quote in and of itself encapsulates everything this article has been saying. The rich own America, whether it is through interest groups, being a rich politician, paying the politicians, or simply having their interests catered to.

Finally, the last point is a follow-up to a point previously made. In 2010, the American political system changed forever. The supreme court ruled five to four, on the Citizens United versus FEC case. What this means is that corporations had fewer restrictions on how a corporation could interact with politics What this did, is that it empowered corporations to simply flood the political process with money with corporate interests attached. The consequences of this ruling can still be felt to this very day.

Capitalist Influence

Ultimately, the influence of the rich on American politics can not be understated. They have supreme amounts of control and even if the most progressive people enter the system their influence is limited. The American political system needs to be cut off from its benefactors. Imagine if every politician could only rely on their reputation, their policy, and their grassroots efforts. With everything in mind, the question of does the working class matter in politics can be answered. From a certain perspective, the answer is no but yes.

From a completely internal standpoint, the answer is no. Working-class people rarely influence politics in ways that matter. However, from an external standpoint, things like going on a national strike for 2 weeks would make everything stop moving. The reason why both realities can be true at the same time is that the working class is what makes the world go around.

Businesses can’t profit if there are no workers laboring. It is not the mine owner who creates the value, it is the miners extracting the ore that creates the value. The mine owner simply owned the materials that were already valuable. Yet, it is the worker that adds upon that value that creates a product.

Worker Power

This is why the working class always has to go on strike to get what they want. Since all profit is born through labor, when workers go on strike, profit can’t be made. It is in the material interests of the capitalist class to make sure that by any means, the workers aren’t allowed to use the government in a way that benefits them.

The reason why is that if the workers use the government to work toward their own interests, then there would be fewer profits. At the end of the day they only really care about profits.

Written by Kenneth Mazerat

Sources

Forbes: Here Are The Billionaires Who Donated To Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential Campaign by Michela Tindera

Vox: Working-class people are underrepresented in politics. The problem isn’t voters. by Dr. Nicholas Carnes 

MTSU: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) By David L. Hudson Jr.

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Daniel X. O’Neil’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

First Inset Image Courtesy of  Pictures of Money Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Second Inset Image Courtesy of Bill G.’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License