Hold on to your butts, comrades. We're about to get a preview of 2050. I just checked the live data, and the area off the coast of South America that is the index water for ENSO is 9° F above average in places. This is going to be a wild year.
this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2026
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If you want a purely material class analysis of people like your brother (where their believes don't matter): for people in the imperial core, who are not landlords, but get paid high enough wages to invest significant amounts of money, but they still go to work, their class position depends first on their investment. Do they make enough money "passively" from their investment alone, ignoring wages, to live a life of average comfort if they were to quit their job on the spot? Than they are capitalists who labor "on the side", but are no longer forced to sell their capacity to work. From a revolution, they stand to gain a functioning, crisis free system, the survival of the planet, peace and the end of oppressive hierarchies. But they would lose their class privileges and have a lower living standard.
If the income from their investment is to little to live off, they are still forced to sell their labor and they are still part of the working class, no matter their lack in class consciousness. Even, if they say they are "capitalists", they are wrong. However, the working class is split and I'd like to point out two ways how: betrayal and class compromise. Examples for jobs, that try to form workers into class traitors are any jobs who discipline workers and enjoy privileges in return: like police, foreman, judges, managers with low/medium income, teachers, social workers etc. But not everyone in such a job necessarily becomes a class traitor. Some work against what's expected of them to show solidarity. This is almost non existent in cops, but very common in teachers and almost the norm in social workers even though they all have a disciplinary or controlling role, but to different extends, with different levels of political consciousness. Other privileges arise because of racism and patriarchy. Again, allies are possible who actively reject their privilege.
An example for class compromise: in the imperial core, they are likely part of the labor aristocracy and are privileged from unequal exchange, overexploitation and accumulation through dispossession. Another example: the 1968 generation dropped revolution and anti-imperialism in turn for increased personal liberties.
Keep in mind, that borders between class positions are constantly shifting with technological development and class struggle.