ckaihatsu wrote:Very presumptuous and *fatalistic* line, IR.
I do realize it may seem so. But the example with Bolshevism is most obvious. That is why I say it in this certain topic.
1. As you might probably know, the Bolshevik’s party was the party of
workers AND
peasants by definition.
2. The rapid industrialization resulted in the rapid development of cities. The majority of industrial plants, and thus the majority of workers, were concentrated in cities.
3. All bodies of power and governance were naturally concentrated in (larger) cities too.
4. Thus
what began as the party of workers AND peasants ended up as the party of workers de facto in the mid 20-s. Nevertheless the majority of population were still peasants.
5. Further, the Bolsheviks cancelled (formally) the right to own any means of production. But they did not intend to cancel private property. Anyone could still save money, collect anything, etc. Which itself resulted in huge disparities even within cities.
6. All that resulted in a huge wave of migration to cities. Even if you could save some money you had practically no possibilities to spend them, if you lived somewhere else.
7. Obviously, peasants were far from being happy (they had never been before). So the Bolsheviks invented the so called ‘collectivization’ for them. That meant cancelling not only right of ownership of means of production and not only private property
de facto (dekulakization). What is most striking, that was meant to stop the migration. Because peasants were denied the right to get the passport. Without which they could not even cross the city borders! That resulted in an unprecedented level of enslavement (de facto).
Here is why I say that was the dictatorship of urbanism. And I hope you understand the line of argumentation. You might object that could be something very specific to that certain country in that certain period. I’d say, it has just gotten much worse.
It is very uncomfortable idea, since the majority of us (intellectuals, etc) prefer to live in larger cities. And when we think of a justice, it is always the justice for people like us.
Have you seen ‘Nomadland’? Then you know what I mean.