Mastering the Universe:
The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What they Do with Their Money, And Why You Should Hate Them Even More
Rob Larson, Haymarket Books, 2024
This book seethes with righteous class anger! The author boldly calls out the capitalist class for its greedy destruction of the earth and the people in it. He demands not just mild reform of the system but the complete expropriation of the ruling class. Only that will prevent the capitalists from undermining the reforms that workers fought and died for.
It is well written and entertaining as well as very informative. It is very useful for those organizing against the system. It debunks the arguments in favor or capitalism and backs up its critique with facts and figures. It also lets the capitalists condemn themselves with disgusting statements and reports of obscene actions.
Larson points out that the capitalists know they have both economic and political power and want to keep it that way:
“When told one of his schemes to crush competitors was illegal, early railroad monopolist Cornelius Vanderbuilt memorably said, ‘What do I care about the law. Hain’t I got the power?”(66)
Or as Mayer Amschel Rothschild put it, “Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws” (139)
Workers vs. the Wealthy
“The author argues that the other occupational and economic divisions are secondary”
The author draws a sharp line between those who earn their living by working for others and those who live off of accumulated wealth. The latter exploit the former by living off of their labor. He feels that this is the fundamental division in society. This causes continual class conflict in capitalist society:
“This means, in short that there is a relation of enduring class conflict in capitalism, between the rich who own the economic means of production, and various tiers of working people who have the choice of working for them, or watching the kids starve. Now that is a class line.” (75)
The author argues that the other occupational and economic divisions are secondary. He especially opposes the media’s highlighting differences between white- and blue-collar workers. He is clear the working conditions differ from job to job. However, both white- and blue-collar workers are exploited by property owners who control the economy and politics. The interests of both sets of workers are united in opposing exploitation and the concentration of wealth.
His stress on the class contradiction between labor and capital is welcome. Too often, the media and politicians emphasize secondary differences to obscure the fundamental divide. However, in making that needed point, the author goes too far. He dismisses the idea of the “professional managerial class” (PMC) promoted by the late socialist author Barbara Ehrenreich.
The PMC is indeed too broad. Ehrenreich included managers and professionals, such as teachers, social workers and nurses. In fact, while managers are part of a new middle class many “ professionals” are not. The function of managers is to intensify the exploitation of workers. However, teachers, social workers and nurses are better seen as credentialed workers. They are part of the working class.
In rejecting the PMC , Larson plays down the very real conflict between managers and workers. Managers are carrying out the imperatives of the capitalist class. They are paid a salary as workers are, but they are retained and promoted for enforcing capitalist interests. As such they cannot be consistent supporters of working-class interests. In intense class struggle and especially revolution, some can be won over to the side of workers while others will side with the capitalists. Cops are another such middle-class sector who are committed to maintaining capitalist property relations. They have consistently sided with the ruling class in revolutionary and non-revolutionary times.
The author seems to adopt the imprecise analysis of the Occupy movement, “We are the 99%”
Larson lays out the concentration of wealth very clearly:
“The richest 1% of U.S. households owns 40% of the stock market, and the top 10% owns 84%.” (1)
The global top 1% owned 38% of wealth in 2021. (13)
This process of concentration continues:
“The middle class itself, the 40% between the bottom half and the top 10%, has seen its wealth share fall from 34% in 1980 to 28% in 2021” (15)
Covid accelerated this concentration:
“the collective wealth of all American billionaires rose from 2.95 trillion at the start of the pandemic to 4.56 trillion a year later.” (21)
While wealth has concentrated at the top, household debt has skyrocketed.
Throughout the book, Larson emphasizes that this concentration of wealth is an international process, even in countries that have claimed to be socialist. In China for example, the richest 1% own 30.5% of the wealth and the top 10% own 67.8% (23)
“…all humanity now has the same class in charge.” (140)
Lifestyles of the Rich and Disgusting
“When you are used to being catered to 24/7, you start to feel the world should be built around you and your needs. You lose all sense of perspective.”
In the chapter on Lifestyle, Larson gives maddening example after maddening example of ruling class gluttony in a world where millions of poor people die from malnutrition and preventable diseases.
“Another favorite of mine is the rich 1950s Manhattanite who directed her butler to return to her Hamptons estate weekly to dig up soil, for her Pekingese, Peaches to poop in.” (48)
Even when the rich reluctantly share a building with those with less wealth, they try to ensure they don’t run into the riffraff.
“ Developers ..grudgingly built some middle class type units , but still wanted most of their buildings to be the most profitable, high end model possible, leading them to install special separate entrances for tenants of the more affordable units that became known as ‘poor doors’ ”.(49)
This results in psychological/social problems among the rich:
“When you are used to being catered to 24/7, you start to feel the world should be built around you and your needs. You lose all sense of perspective.” (44)
The world has clearly seen this play out in Trump’s malignant narcissism but it is not confined to him.
Capitalist Lies
“He exposes the myth that the capitalists actually produce anything beneficial”
The author excoriates the excuses the capitalists use to maintain their rule:
“While conservative supporters of capitalism…claim they oppose vague ‘elites ‘, these elites usually turn out to be various nonconservative middle-class people, like college professors and media figures.”(65)
This lets the actual elite, the ruling class, off the hook for the social problems their system creates.
He also exposes the myth that the capitalists actually produce anything beneficial:
“ ..when we say a CEO ‘built the company’ we know the building was put up by construction workers, the goods it produces are made by factory workers , and the company is run by office workers.” (99)
Electing a Revolution?
“The capitalist government will prevent the expropriation of the capitalist class as long as it has the power to do so.”
This book is a wonderful expose’ of the capitalists and their system! The author’s goal is definitely revolutionary — -the complete expropriation of the capitalists, the elimination of extremes of wealth. However, he gives no clear strategy for bringing this about.
Larson alludes to popular support for his anti-capitalist attitudes and implies that this means we can elect our way to his goal. He mentions Bernie Sanders and other elected “socialists” as positive examples.
This contradicts his earlier stress on the capitalists controlling the government and state apparatus. How will such a government allow the expropriation of the class that controls it?
In fact, the capitalist government will prevent the expropriation of the capitalist class as long as it has the power to do so. The expropriation of the capitalists will also require the dismantling of their government and state apparatus at well. If workers want to expropriate the capitalists, they will need to replace the capitalist government with a new state controlled democratically by workers. Such a workers’ state could use its political power to take away the economic power of the capitalists.
With this limitation, this book can be a very useful tool in building the struggle against the capitalists and their system!
