#class

sylviaj@joindiaspora.com
sylviaj@joindiaspora.com
stuart_duckworth_1@joindiaspora.com

On this day, 16 June 1531, English king Henry VIII modified the vagrancy laws he brought in the previous year, which were key in creating the working class. People kicked off communal land who were not in wage labour were designated as vagabonds, and on their first offence were to be whipped, then on the second whipped with half an ear sliced off and upon a third offence they were to be executed. This and similar laws enacted across Europe, backed up by intense state violence, created a class of people forced to sell their labour to survive: the working class.
Karl Marx described these legal mechanisms in volume 1 of his work, Capital: "Thus were the agricultural people, first forcibly expropriated from the soil, driven from their homes, turned into vagabonds, and then whipped, branded, tortured by laws grotesquely terrible, into the discipline necessary for the wage system."
This expropriation was extended across the globe by violent colonialism.
Rather than being a natural state of affairs as it is often portrayed, the creation of the working class was fiercely resisted for hundreds of years, and indeed still is to this day in some areas.
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If you value our work researching and promoting people's history like this, please consider supporting us on patreon where you can also access exclusive content and benefits: https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Pictured: contemporary illustration of the punishment of a vagabond in Tudor England

I got this from Working Class History. Henry VIII's amorous and sexual exploits are a distraction from his behaviour as a monarch.

#workingclasshistory #history #workingclass #class #poliitics

wist@diasp.org

A quotation by Reeves, Richard V.

Imagine my horror at discovering that the United States is more calcified by class than Britain, especially toward the top. The big difference is that most of the people on the highest rung in America are in denial about their privilege. The American myth of meritocracy allows them to attribute their position to their brilliance and diligence, rather than to luck or a rigged system. At least posh people in England have the decency to feel guilty.

Richard V. Reeves (b. 1969) British historian, journalist, political theorist

“Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich,” New York Times (10 Jun 2017)

#quotation #quote #america #class #meritocracy #privilege #wealthy

More notes and sourcing on WIST: https://wist.info/reeves-richard-v/47132/

dredmorbius@joindiaspora.com

Twelve Tips For Making Sense Of The World | Caitlin Johnston

Caitlin Johnstone is an independent media critic and commentator who I've just discovered, and am trying to assess. There are elements of her thinking and writing I agree with strongly, some not. I'd posted this to the Plexodus subreddit -- it's a bit wide of the usual remit, and thought followers might find this of interest.

This short piece provides a useful framework for assessing human, power, and media relations in the world. It generally resembles conclusions I've been reaching, though it may also be something of a cold reading. I'm thinking otherwise.

Think of these as points to consider in looking both at the opportunity presented by the shutdown of large social media sites, and the opportunity (and risk) of distributed and federated, self-controlled, media.

Johnstone's twelve points summarised here, though read her descriptions:

  1. It's always ultimately about acquiring power.
  2. Money rewards sociopathy
  3. Wealth kills empathy.
  4. Money is power.
  5. The same ruling class controls the media.
  6. People are always manipulating each other.
  7. Society is made otu of narrative.
  8. The lines between nations are imaginary.
  9. Powerful forces are naturally incentivized to collaborate with each other toward mutual interests.
  10. There is an immense amount of wealth that can be grabbed in the chaos of war and conflict.
  11. The neocons are always wrong.
  12. The push toward truth always starts with yourself.

Read the whole thing.

(Also posted to #PlexodusReddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/plexodus/comments/acmzr5/twelve_tips_for_making_sense_of_the_world_caitlin/)

#CaitlinJohnstone #plexodusReddit #power #wealth #class #control

https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/twelve-tips-for-making-sense-of-the-world-43348077cf80

sambation@joindiaspora.com

Comics Workshop “Queer & Fairytales” with CSD Cottbus e.V. on Friday afternoon, December 14th 2018. Participation free of charge and with registration only due to limited places for participants. More Info and registration for Queer Comics Workshops: http://www.csd-cottbus.info/index.php/workshop/comic-workshop

Comic-Workshop „Queer & Märchen“ beim CSD Cottbus e.V. am Freitag Nachmittag, den 14. Dezember 2108. Teilnahme kostenlos und nur mit Anmeldung wegen begrenzter Platzzahl. Mehr Info und Anmeldung zu den Queeren Comic-Workshops: http://www.csd-cottbus.info/index.php/workshop/comic-workshop

#comicworkshop, #queer, #lgbt, #cottbus, #maerchen, #fairytales, comics, #comic, #sachsendorf, #workshop, #kurs, #class, #csd, #pride, #stories, #drawing, #zeichnen, #sequences, #sequenzen, #comicsworkshop,

sambation@joindiaspora.com

There are still free places in my Weekend Comics Workshop on the novel "Der Schimmelreiter" by Theodor Storm at union College Berlin Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Date: September 9. and 10th. Join us!
https://www.vhsit.berlin.de/VHSKURSE/BusinessPages/CourseDetail.aspx?id=459336

#comics, #comic, #comix, #workshop, #VHS, #schimmelreiter, #storm, #literature, #sequences, #drawing, #berlin, #weekend, #wochenende, #naturalism, #novel, #embankment, #class, #kurs, #werkstatt