There’s something to be said about anarchist’s affinity for the working class.
Anarcho-Syndicalism declares class warfare and organised struggle to be central to their cause. Look to any other idea on the libertarian left and you’ll see an adoration for the working class.
Never mind the fact that many anarchists today seem to be creeping into the lower-middle class. Then there’s the fact that many (not all) anarchists will never make their career in the blue collar workplace. Never the less their love for the working class remains.
The first thing anarchists worry about when the latest cuts come from government bodies is how the working class will fare. Most anything is an “assault on the working class” when it comes to cuts (unless their defence related).
This gives the average person another good conversation starter if conversation slows between you and an anarchist. You only need to know what EU country is currently facing austerity measures, and drop that into conversation. They’ll list off all the “assaults on the working class.” Don’t overdo this though, you could get them too excited.
but sentence 2 & 3 contradict.
Love,
VC
But working class is definitely not just blue collar. How about those call centers or teachers who make half of what blue collar auto factory workers do? Most anarchist are not big on the “sociological definition of working class.”
I know this is all meant to be in jest, but you seem to be trying to point out that anarchists hold an adoration for the working class despite many coming from lower middle class backgrounds, but you are confusing two completely different class systems. Anarchists only recognise two classes: the working class and the employing class, i.e. those who own the means of production and those who’s labour is exploited for profit by the aforementioned group. So, when anarchists talk about the ‘working class’, it includes what other people might refer to as the middle classes. Working class doesn’t just mean blue-collar. It covers everyone who works for the wage system, everyone who works for a boss, rather than those who have people working for them.