(A) On the Economic Field the capitalists divide the working class and have them fight one another; and thus the capitalist class are easily able to defeat and fleece the workers all the time, everywhere. The workers, having no part in the ownership of the means of production and being thus divorced from a commanding relation to the economic foundations of society, craftily fooled with false teaching of “capital-and-labor-harmony-of-interests,” sore and humble with disappointment, whipped with the lash of hunger, stung to desperation, confused and traduced by bribed pets, spies and traitors,—the workers angrily, blindly, split up into jealous groups, shamefully turn against one another, fight one another, under-bid one another, “scab” on one another, desert one another,—defeat one another. Moreover one part of the working class is flattered and cheaply bribed into volunteering to organize and arm themselves and proudly stand guard over their brothers and against their brothers; and thus the workers spy and inform on one another, arrest one another, jail one another, “bull pen” one another, bayonet one another and shoot one another—under the capitalist system—the present class-labor system.
The working class, of course, are thus easily defeated and robbed industrially.
The busy human bees sting themselves—and lose the honey of their own industry.
And all this is entirely satisfactory to the industrial masters—great and small. (See page [175], [[5]].)
The rulers rule.
(B) On the Political Field the capitalist class divide the working class into two or more groups and have them politically antagonize themselves, have all the workers all the time politically sting and defeat one another—that is,—have them cancel the political class-power of the working class.
One part of the working class vote one capitalist class party ticket, another part of the working class vote another capitalist class party ticket, another another, and so on. Thus millions of the confused working class politically defeat the working class and politically support their industrial masters by politically supporting political parties (variously and craftily labeled) which unanimously stand for the capitalist system.
Thus the confused working class are easily defeated politically—which makes it far easier to rob them industrially.
By electing to political power any political party standing for any form of the capitalist class-labor system the working class give the capitalist class complete control not only of all the political institutions, but also of all other institutions useable by a class in self-defense; because the control of political institutions carries with it the legal right to control all other institutions. In this political confusion, division and eclipse, the working class are as helpless as sheep, and, like sheep, are shorn by their political and industrial shepherds.
And this also is entirely satisfactory to the masters of industry—both great and small.