In Support of the Working ClassLabor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.~ Abraham Lincoln In the United States class struggle isnt a new concept, but one which remains greatly ignored by our educational institutions and news media groups, alike. The consequences to our nation for the blatant disregard of this economic feature weaken the ability to effectively react to and organize against economic attacks made contrary to the best interest of the working-class. What you dont know can hurt you, and comprehending the nature of class struggle is paramount to understanding the workings of the economy and ones own role within it. What we arent in short supply of, are the explanations about the importance of markets to our economy or how the laws of supply and demand are a central fixed feature to human activity. These buttresses of capitalism are relentlessly preached from every major media pulpit and are neatly interwoven with concepts of democracy, such that, the very notion that one can exist without the other seems impossible to the average American. Its the labor, stupid. In the most basic sense labor produces something of value; there is a tangible good or service provided which benefits a real economy. Resources are often the foundation of labor and must be considered an essential part of the economy. That tree (over there) becomes a table, should labor craft it into one, for example. Labor is superior to capital because it always advances the practical notion of a real world and one in which humans have physical needs. Labors primary function is to fulfill some kind of a need. Capital, on the other hand, has managed to move beyond this basic concept of a real economy and the investments necessary to provide the goods and services needed by men and ventured into the territory of a false economy, through financialization. This new banking wizardry has manufactured a fictional economy which has become the equivalent of a parasite to the working-class. Investments no longer just support the furtherance of a real economy but often act counter to peoples wellbeing. Excessive speculation, for example, can drive up costs of raw materials well beyond the ability for them to be used in production or commodities can become priced out of the reach of the consumer and cause starvation and untold misery. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. ~FDR 1936 The failure of government to intervene on behalf of labor to stop these practices has created an environment for finance capital to thrive over the last several decades: even as workers wages have stagnated since the 1970s, even as millions have been tossed from their foreclosed homes, even as the dollar as weakened, even as millions have lost employment, even as millions have lost benefits, even as thousands fight and die in wars designed to secure more natural resources, even as they come after our social security insurance, even as they come after tax dollars set aside to help feed our needy and elderly, even as they dismantle US factories and ship them abroad, even as they let our family members die from lack of healthcare. So when they tell you that this isnt a class war, or that your labor is unimportant, or that you have to compete with a developing nations wages or benefits due to lackluster profit margins, or that the wealth will trickle down, or that the only way to balance a budget is on the backs of the working-class, or that we need to pay over 1 trillion a year for warfare, or that youre un-American for caring about your fellow countrymens general welfare, or that its unreasonable to feed the poor, or that banks are too big to fail and cant be prosecuted for overt criminal activity, or to just go and find a jobwhen they tell you these things out of ignorance or smug indifference to the suffering of others; please remind them that this country was built with labors blood and sweat and that we have just as much a right to stake a claim in the way this nation operates and who will benefit from it, as they do. Tell them that change is going to come because we value what is real and that means each other. Tesha Miller is a freelance writer whose work has appeared on many websites. Her full biography can be read HERE. 