Re: [Marxism] RE: Labor aristocracy

[Ben C <minnows@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It's really frustrating that whenever this debate starts, people chime
in who apparently haven't followed the previous threads (mostly a couple
of years ago -- unfortunately hard to find on an archive search,
although myself and Tom O'Lincoln were primary protagonists).We seem to
go over the same tired set positions every time.

Probably  because the "labour aristocracy" or bribery concept goes to
the heart of the theory of working class opportunism, it's one of the
most mystified theories. But really it's not that difficult. When a
struggle is sold out by class conciliation, when a group of exploited
workers are left high-and-dry by their class, we have to look at the
reasons why: this is basic class analysis. To recognise that higher
wages, white skin privilege, "democratic" political concessions and the
like play an important part in "buying off" workers is not very
controversial when it happens concretely. To extrapolate a broader
theory, as Lenin did, is a useful analytical tool.

That doesn't mean that every sellout is a case of bribery. It doesn't
mean that richer = more opportunist, or that higher wages determine
level of consciousness, or that every white worker (or male, first world
etc) is equally part of the "bribed" section.

Comrades must learn to distinguish between the static logical category
-- "labour aristocracy" -- and the living class struggle which the
category is extrapolated from. Of course theory can never match reality;
the question is, does it provide a help for us to understand the
struggle? We need to apply the question to struggle, class forces in
motion, not static socio-economic categories.

And I highly recommend the links that Nick F posted for background reading.

Ben Courtice

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