The last book my book club read was on slavery. It was an intense and harrowing read, and the topic of slavery loomed large on my mind for days. So, I began to wonder why systems that oppress humans in the the worst imaginable ways survive? Why did the slaves get up every morning to work in the fields, with the ever-present danger of punishment, torture and rape. Surely, death was preferable to such an existence? Yes, from the liberal well-fed (and judgemental) perspective of today.
Is it because slavery, for all its brutalities, was a somewhat orderly system? The slaves still got fed (however badly) at the end of the day, and a place to sleep and wash in. People had well-defined roles and functions. Brutality had been a made a precondition for the survival of the system, thus rendering brutality banal. The culture of slaves and slave-owners was well-established. Given the choice between chaos and a brutal system how many of us would choose chaos, especially if we were not the main target of the brutality? Maybe this is a cynical view, and its possible that I will regret writing this tomorrow. But, sometimes I wonder whether well-to-do socialists calling for the overthrow of capitalism would respond if the economy descended into chaos tomorrow and if everything we take for granted as our style of life was imperiled. Maybe a spontaneous communism would emerge in some places, I don't know. But, a revolution that can't feed its people won't last long.
No comments:
Post a Comment