Capitalism operates by depriving ppl of basic necessities so they’re forced to serve as cheap labor for industry. Gov’t assists private industry by creating policy that forces ppl into poverty & also criminalizes poverty. Police enforce it by evicting ppl, targeting poor ppl, etc
The system of forced free/cheap labor is what allows the ruling elite to profit so tremendously. It’s key to understand how chattel slavery, the kidnapping & intergenerational bondage of Africans, forms the financial basis of US capitalism & anti-Blk racism serves to maintains it
You can’t really understand the complex relation between capitalism, racism, classism/poverty & the US govt without understanding that kidnapped Black ppl were/are used as investment capital to fund the entire system. Slavery was never a minor issue, it’s the basis of the economy
The rest of the social/cultural traditions of the modern society stem from the centuries-long practice of regarding kidnapped Black ppl as tradable commodities, no different than any other financial asset a person might own.
The govt is always more eager to spend $ on policing & prisons than on a robust social safety net b/c the prison system is another way of maintaining a free/cheap labor force. Same w/ immigration policy. The constant threat of policing helps maintain an exploitable population.
Some ppl say, “slavery was so long ago. How can that have anything to do with today?”

1) it wasn’t long ago at all actually and
2) the ruling elite are still in possession of $ & land that was gained thru genocide & slavery. They still use it as assets to further increase wealth
You can follow @BreeNewsome.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: