Commentary on Social Class

Pg 58-59:

"There was a strike in Pittsburgh. At the Homestead steel plant of Mr. Carnegie. And Mr. Carnegie decided to break the union. So he ran off for a European vacation and had his chief today, that infamous piece of scum Henry Clay, do the job. Frick imported an army of Pinkertons [private security guards]. The workers were on strike to protest the cutting of wages. The plant is on the Monongahela River and Frick towed his Pinkertons up the river and landed them at the plant from the river. There was a pitched battle. It was a war. When it was over ten were dead and dozens and dozens were wounded. The Pinkertons were driven off. So then Frick was able to get the government working for him and the state militia came in to surround the workers... We would revolutionize their struggle. We would kill Frick. But we were in New York and we had no money. We needed money for a railway ticket and a gun...I would have done it if I had to. It was for Berkman and the revolution."

There are some comments in here that really speak to the idea of social class. First of all, we have the upper class man with a problem he wants to avoid. Through the use of the funds he has gained through the expoitation of the striking workers he leaves his problems for a life of even less turmoil than his current one. Then, more money is spent to violently put down this group of lower class people. Here we see the will of the masses, unified together (engaging in their society, I would add) for a common cause. They are fufiling their roles as citizens by striking. They are choosing to peaceful engage an oppressor. That is, until the bloody battle. But after this battle waged in self defense, we see another member of this social class trying herself to the fight. The unification and determination of this class just comes off as infinitely stronger of the upper class. who runs away from their issues.

We just see a sharp contrast between the two far sides of the social class spectrum. While it has been a while since we have seen such violent protests, I don't think it would be absurd to say that a similar sort of tension exists. It has just evolved since then.