You aren't supposed to notice that.
@GixxerRider1991
As long as people who make $50,000 a year vote for people who make $50,000 a day, the working class is doomed.
@juanbingle
"Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt"
@superFukt-sF1
I never liked it when I noticed they referred to us as "consumers" as a kid
@addenisme1942
“We buy things we don’t need… with money we don’t have… to impress people we don’t even like.”
Professor Jiang Xueqin discusses Karl Marx's ideas and their impact on modern societies, arguing that while communism initially failed in the industrialized nations Marx predicted, his core principles were indirectly adopted post-World War II through social welfare systems, strong labor unions, and policies benefiting the working class. However, starting in the 1980s, a shift occurred with the rise of neoliberal "greed is good" bankers under leaders like Reagan and Thatcher, moving focus from workers to consumers and free-market capitalism.
This transition led to growing inequality, as the globalists amassed wealth while workers' rights diminished. He critiques consumerism, describing it as a system that fosters competition, debt, and individualism, replacing collective worker solidarity with economic logic focused on only material gain. They argue that consumerism acts as a destructive form of "perfect slavery," where people willingly chase status and possessions without realizing their exploitation, making rebellion unlikely. The talk concludes by questioning whether this consumer driven mindset dominates modern societies, including China, and reflects on how education and aspirations have shifted from intellectual growth to economic gain.
