Voluntary 'concessions' made by the rulling classes

[Brigg]

Why is it that the ruling classes often seem to make voluntary 'concessions' to the working class which are supposedly against their class interest?

What about social-democracy, for example? How come that it was possible for social-democrats in places like Sweden to act to ameliorate capitalism and the exploitation of workers despite it being against the class interest of the ruling class?

[Psy]

Why is it that the ruling classes often seem to make voluntary 'concessions' to the working class which are supposedly against their class interest?

What about social-democracy, for example? How come that it was possible for social-democrats in places like Sweden to act to ameliorate capitalism and the exploitation of workers despite it being against the class interest of the ruling class?
It is to pacify the proletariat, as they do fear workers becoming militant as they know even if they put down a worker uprising it will cost them profits as even slow downs hurt their profits.

[Muzk]

Which only happen if there's enough pressure from below.




What about social-democracy, for example? How come that it was possible for social-democrats in places like Sweden to act to ameliorate capitalism and the exploitation of workers despite it being against the class interest of the ruling class?Sweden had a massive worker's movement in the '70s, if I remember correctly. Havn't learnt much about it, though. (or it was switzerland... I can't remember)

[brigadista]

in an attempt to shut us up

[ComradeOm]

Why is it that the ruling classes often seem to make voluntary 'concessions' to the working class which are supposedly against their class interest?

What about social-democracy, for example? How come that it was possible for social-democrats in places like Sweden to act to ameliorate capitalism and the exploitation of workers despite it being against the class interest of the ruling class?Because in this day and age it is impossible, and counter-productive, for the ruling class to maintain power through its traditional tool - coercion and brute force. Hence what has developed, in liberal democracies at least, is a parliamentary structure that legitimises the ruling class and its institutions in the eyes of the wider populace. This does require that some non-essential concessions be made in order to 'manufacture consent', as Gramsci put it

Gramsci is the man you want to read for this sort of thing (unfortunately few of his works are available on MIA) and his Prison Notebooks, while not easy to read, contain some very interesting ideas on this 'hegemony'. One important thing to note though is that we are talking about a complex set of cultural interactions and this process very rarely comes down to concious decisions to "shut us up" by granting concessions

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Social-Democrats (true SDs, not neo-liberals in SD clothing) are simply mis-guided. People like Michael Foot, for example.

The bourgeois parties, on the other hand, often make these concessions as populist gestures. A cap on bank bonuses, for example, is not in the genuine interest of ordinary people, but simply to show that they are doing something.

Put simply, it is politics.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

It is the idea that giving us a bit of power and rights will neutralise our threat. Obviously these concessions should be fought for but that is their intention to stifle any struggle against capitalism.

[Glenn Beck]

While functionally concessions do serve to 'pacify the proletariat' and many capitalists and politicians express an ideological preference to this effect, this kind of implies a simplistic view of Marxism as a conspiracy theory that liberals love to use as a straw man.

Concessions are a response to the political and economic situation, they are enacted when the political and economic cost of granting concessions is lower than the cost of maintaining the status quo. Logically, this tends to be during periods of social mobilization.

The threat or fact of political action by masses of working class people itself changes the political logic of a particular moment and makes previously unfavored or even unthinkable actions by government suddenly appear to be the logical and responsible option, and then concessionary reforms are likely to be enacted.

This is the beauty of ideology, which works no matter what the particular beliefs and motivations of given actors within the same structural position. The process works the same way whether a politician is a noble idealist just waiting for the right opportunity to pass his utopian reform program, or a cynical opportunist taking whatever steps are necessary to ensure his power.

[Die Neue Zeit]

The bourgeois parties, on the other hand, often make these concessions as populist gestures. A cap on bank bonuses, for example, is not in the genuine interest of ordinary people, but simply to show that they are doing something.

Put simply, it is politics.

Or the lack thereof, actually.