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Pro-capitalists create propaganda to try to make egalitarians like this wonderful person doubt the wisdom of having no rich and no poor. But such propaganda relies on deceitful tricks. Go here to see 500+ photos of more wonderful egalitarians in my zip code.
Here’s a short (1 minute and 30 seconds only!) propaganda video designed to make one think that if we abolish class inequality and have no rich and no poor, then we’ll all be reduced to living in abject poverty.
It’s a sophisticated piece of propaganda. Can you identify the deceitful trick it uses? Give it a try. I’ll wait for you to think about it.
….
….
Ok. Did you find it?
Whether you found it or not, I am assuming that at least you watched it. OK?
Here’s the trick it uses.
The video hides the fact that ending class inequality and having no rich and no poor does NOT mean that everybody gets the same amount of stuff (“same grade” in the video story) no matter what.1
The video assumes (without calling attention to the fact that it is assuming it, which makes for effective propaganda2) that ending class inequality and having no rich and no poor3 means that everybody gets the same amount of stuff, no matter whether they work hard (“study” in the video story) or little or even not at all. Freeloaders who refuse to work get the same amount of stuff as those who do work, in the video’s portrayal of a society with no class inequality and with no rich and no poor, a portrayal of it as FREELOADER-FRIENDLY.
Egalitarianism (the actual way to abolish class inequality and have no rich and no poor) is based on the ANTI-FREELOADER principle of “From each according to reasonable ability4, to each according to need or reasonable desire with scarce things equitably rationed according to need.” Those who do not work (contribute) according to reasonable ability do NOT have the right to enjoy the part about “to each according to need or reasonable desire.
In an egalitarian society people have two motives to work according to reasonable ability: #1) If they don’t, then they have no right to take what they need or reasonably desire from the fruit of the labor of those who do work; #2) If they don’t, then they forfeit having the self-respect and satisfaction that comes from knowing one is helping to make a better world for people. (Read more here about this.)
By the way, read here about how the egalitarian economy out-performed the capitalist economy it replaced in Spain in 1936-9.
Also, read “What ‘Equality’ Does NOT Mean and What It DOES Mean” about how anti-egalitarian propaganda relies on lies about what egalitarianism actually is.
Another way this propaganda video is deceitful is by hiding the fact that in an egalitarian society there are aspects of meritocracy as I write about here. People who study hard and learn things that way (and get high grades I suppose?) can enjoy being doctors or airline pilots and such, whereas those who do not become skilled this way cannot.
Alas, there are some people—not very smart people—who say society should be based on “free access,” meaning everybody can take from the economy what they want for free no matter whether they contribute reasonably according to ability or not. These people call themselves socialists and make it easy for pro-capitalists to mock those who aim to abolish class inequality. I wrote here about these wrongheaded people, and about freeloading.
If it explicitly stated the assumption then that would alert the audience and cause them to think critically about it.
which in some cases means zero work, for example children and the elderly and people who for some reason cannot do any useful work, and includes students and apprentices learning stuff and people taking care of others, and so on, but does NOT include freeloaders who can but refuse to contribute reasonably according to ability.
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