Communist Manifesto Part 1

While reading the Communist Manifesto, I couldn’t help but think about how the Bourgeois and Proletarians reminded me of the 98% and 2% group that was control in France. The Bourgeois may not have had as much as the 2% but they still looked down at the Proletarians. The Bourgeois expected those under them to make money for them. With this said I think it’s crazy how much money can change people. When people work hard for their money they can be proud because they know that they earned that money by themselves. They learn how to stretch a dollar because they know that having a job isn’t an easy thing to do, but they continue to work because they have to. But as soon as people acquire money, things start to change. They expect people to do things for them; they no longer value money because they know that there is more where they come from.

            Reading about how hard the Proletarians have to work in order to survive makes me think about the thousands of companies that still rely on sweatshop like working space. I know retail stores like Nike rely on workers from out of the country to work fast and efficiently. There have been lawsuits because the people working for such big corporations feel like they are still being underpaid and their long hours and harsh work environment is affecting their health. If I were to break this down in terms of Proletarians and Bourgeois terminology, those actually making the clothing would be the Proletarians and those working in the actually store selling the items would be the Bourgeois, then those that rank higher than store managers would be the 2%. Most of these companies started off small, they had one guy that came up with the idea and they just expanded. I wonder how the founders of such big retail chains have change? Are they still able to make a dollar stretch or does it not matter anymore because they bring in so much money.

            As someone who works for a big retail chain, I never really thought much about those who are actually making the clothes. I have always complained about how tiring it is to deal with customers and having to hear them complain about how they don’t like our store policy that I never really thought much about those actually making the clothes. I wonder how their working conditions are? How long do they usually work? Do they get the standard breaks that we do? Another thing that I have never really thought much about until now is when customers comment on how they love our store because of the “cheap prices” and “cheap but good enough material”. The customers are always telling me that they shop at Forever 21 because if they were to go to Nordstrom for a tank top they would pay at least 20 dollars, but at my store for 20 dollars they can get about six tank tops. This makes me wonder is our price cheap because the labor is cheap?