A Class-less Society?

As we discussed in class this week, Communism as an ideology is widely regarded in America with distaste, fear, and in many cases, outright revulsion. And with the types of leaders who have embraced Communism in the past, one can hardly blame us. However, in actually reading and discussing the ideas of Marx, one cannot deny the allure of his argument; Capitalism is a rather heartless enterprise, and communism seems like the inevitable solution to this condition of human selfishness, replacing the extreme social and economic discrepancy between the "bourgeoisie" and the "proletariat" with a classless society.

It all sounds so good on paper. However, many capitalists would argue that is insupportable because of the lack of competition, an incentive to innovate. But this is not the problem I would like to address--the goal of Communism I must question is the reality of a "classless society." Perhaps such a thing existed in one point in time, thousands of years ago, but the way civilization has developed across the board renders this kind of utopia impossible. I believe it is in human nature to classify ourselves--we are constantly judging ourselves and others, seeking our identity. Though communism may necessitate economic equality, it would not stop humans from finding other ways to justify their superiority over others.

Imagine a world in which, regardless of what sort of work one did, everyone makes the same salary--everyone lives modestly, no one takes more than they need. The doctor has no more money than the garbage man: everyone is simply playing their part in their society, each job necessary for the survival and nourishment of their community. All people are people, rather than commodities to be bought, sold, and exploited. As idyllic as all this sounds, this homogeneity would not please the people for long. Contrary to the popular conception of class as strictly a product of economic status, I find that social status and power are never distributed equally amongst the people, no matter what the economic situation. Today, money is power. But if one took away that money, there would still be power to be seized by someone else by some other means, some other way of elevating himself. Perhaps those with more cerebral jobs would be placed above those with more menial tasks, or maybe instead the work that required the most physical strength would be considered the most powerful position.

According to Paul Fussell, author of Class: A Guide Through the American Class System, the way class is defined differs for each sector of the class system. The poor generally think class is solely an issue of money, the middle class think it a combination of money with the kind of education you've had and work you do, while the upper class think of as it mostly a matter of taste and behavior (Fussell). The way we define ourselves is very important to us. If the working class took over and eliminated the economic motivations of the class system, there would still be other ways to divide ourselves. Whether that means that the proletariat would become the new ruling class and create a system that oppressed the previously wealthy and oppressive, or whether they would try to implement a system of equality, a classless society seems impossible. Man was created equal, but he will do anything he can to change that.