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Seems to me like talk of class is taboo in America, even among workers. Most people would define themselves as middle class even if they are working class or rich, even people on the left. This is being continously exploited by the wealthy in my opinion.
European workers dont think like that. They don't believe that if rich people become more rich, it will benefit society as a whole. European unions are very class oriented regardless of how strongly influenced they have been by marxism/communism. Today very few people share that type of ideology, but they still think class. Being working class is a source of pride, so what you see in these marches are people who are standing up and saying, "we do the fucking work around here. You created the problem, you fix it for yourselves." You can't tell these people that the way out of this shit is a tax cut for the rich. They don't believe in trickle-down economics.
Times are changing though, more and more people see unions as something obsolete. This has to do with the rise of the tech jobs, the shrinking of manufacturing industry, a general rise in living standard, and also how plural our societies are today. We have so many options and choices that people don't feel loyalty to anything anymore (except Apple, apparently). This started to change in the 80s. As this video shows however, unions are far from dead. And with a crisis like the one we have now, i think more and more workers are rediscovering their importance.
You see, politicians arent afraid of black bloc anarchists. They're afraid of these people. Unions with thousands upon thousands of members. These are voters with a class identity. You can't tell them the rich need a tax break. And hopefully they will put a stop to the right turn Europe has taken with Berlusconi, Merkel, Sarkozy etc.
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