Straight From the (Middle-Class) Horse's Mouth.

I seem to remember having this discussion a couple of years ago. In my opinion the motivation Chris [Bertram] is describing—bluntly: punitive sadism directed at the poor caused by righteous resentment of their [mis]perceived politics—is barely significant within the other powerful motivations middle-class people have always had for opposing ‘radical redistribution’, not least crude self-interest. engels 12.29.18 at 9:59 pm

These days lots of people use the S-word to describe themselves. “Socialism” is fashionable again, baby. But, how real is that phenomenon?

Old-fashioned socialists the world over should read the post that comment replies to. They may not enjoy the reading, for reminders of what they always knew aren’t necessarily pleasant. If the socialists, however, just happen to be British and young and working-class then to read that post is vitally important: it’s their asses that are at stake here.

Without further ado, I’ll leave you with Chris Bertram’s “If Brexit Goes Ahead, Say Goodbye to Radical Redistribution”. Once you’re done with that, my own comments over the fold.

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Chris Bertram -- a white, liberal, vaguely reformist, middle-class, middle-aged professor of philosophy at Bristol University (sounds familiar?) -- explains why Jeremy Corbyn and the UK Labour Party must come out openly against Brexit now, come what may, no buts, no ifs, regardless of any other consideration. That’s the content of his latest Crooked Timber post: “If Brexit Goes Ahead, Say Goodbye to Radical Redistribution”.

We don’t want misunderstandings, so let me clarify, before readers conclude -- as I myself initially did -- that this sounds like an ultimatum. Bertram is not speaking in his own name. Being privy to their mindset, he’s just the interpreter of the feelings and wishes of his fellow upper-middle-class, educated, liberal/leftish Britons.

Like Bertram himself, his peers are Remainers and also like him they “think of (nearly all) Brexiteers as racists”. Indeed, neither Bertram nor the British middle-class, liberal/leftish think much of the “(white) working-class community” or the “left-behinds” or “racists” (all terms Bertram personally uses interchangeably with “Brexiteer”; he never used other terms of endearment like “chavs”, or “plebs”, or “precariat” popular in Bertram’s milieu and presumably he still excludes “subhuman” and “scum”).

Vocabulary aside, what really differentiates Bertram from his less tolerant social peers is that he is magnanimous enough to publicly grant human rights even to Brexiteers (or whatever other term you might prefer: for brevity’s sake, I’ll use “Brexiteer” as a short-hand) -- or at least, two years ago he still granted them that. Believe it or not.

Besides being careful with his words and unbelievably generous, Bertram is a teacher and an intellectual. Therefore, he naturally proceeds to school Corbyn and Labourites: Brexiteers “need the targets of their anger [Remainers, which one by symmetry can consider interchangeable with the liberal/leftish, middle-class, professional, educated] to vote with them rather than for an individualistic set of policies that abandon the worst off”. (Just out of curiosity, let me ask readers: Whatever else you are, are you by any chance one of those “worst off” Bertram mentioned?)

So, if Brexiteers win and Britain exits the EU, middle class, liberal/leftish Remainers could retaliate by withdrawing support for “radical redistribution”. Bertram chose his words carefully: He didn’t qualify that negative as anything, but perhaps one could call that “spite”. They would punish Labour and the whole working class out of spite. For a related reading, re-read the comment by “Engels”, quoted above.

Bertram adds that a Remainer could think:

Why should I pay taxes to bail out a bunch of racist idiots in Sunderland or Stoke? What do I care if some elderly xenophobe can’t find a nurse or a doctor because too few EU nationals have stayed to look after the people who voted to take their rights away?

To be perfectly fair: I am completely sure Bertram himself would be incapable of acting on those impulses. He’s a really nice bloke, yes? Although he has occasionally entertained those “ugly thoughts”, he “usually” puts them away. He’s nice, see?

In Prof. Bertram’s lesson we learn that those “racist idiots in Sunderland or Stoke” are the only beneficiaries of Remainers’ conditional largesse (aka “radical redistribution”), therefore legitimate targets of Remainers’ indiscriminate resentment against all the “worst off”. (Again: Readers aren’t among those “worst off”, are they?)

Let’s cut to the chase: In an inter-class coalition -- popular of late among recent VS, middle-class converts to "socialism" -- like the Remain movement, designed to further the interests of a segment of the British capitalist class and its upper-middle class toadies, it is them who set the goals and priorities; the working class provides the numbers, the support, the cannon-fodder. That goes a long way to explain those sudden “conversions”.

In that kind of “partnership” if wealthy Remainers don’t get what they want, you don’t get what you want. Simple. But it doesn't work the other way around. Bertram, understandably, didn’t put that in those words, but that’s what it all boils down to.

You may not like it, but it’s rational from their point of view. That ain’t news for old-fashioned Marxists.

But it seems to be news for modern socialists. What’s irrational is to believe otherwise, as many young working-class Remainers apparently do. Even if the upper-middle class get what they want, why should they be happy to pay taxes to bail you out? Because you’re so much cooler, cuter, trendier than Pops or Grandpa or awful Uncle Freddie? Because wealthy Remainers are your totally awesome personal buddies? You are dependent on their generosity (ask Bertram): Because you make for a humbler kind of beggar?

I have no dog in that Remain/Leave hunt, maties. So, my young working-class Pommy friends who might be reading, you want to Remain? Fine. Fight for that. But do it for the right reasons and after careful thought. Think what’s your priority, that of your family and friends and workmates, and how best to serve it: “radical redistribution” or Remain? Chances are you won’t get the two.

And own your decision: the success or the failure. Learn from experience.

If Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party fall for that kind of concern-trolling and accept to put the interests of the petty bourgeoisie before those of the working class, they are fools.

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Although I don’t share his political stance, I did learn many things from Prof. Bertram’s lesson, as readers may have noticed.

Something I learned: Like many philosophers, Bertram likes to use (unnecessary) parentheses, no matter how ungrammatical. They look sage-chic, don’t they? Almost like a mark of (superior) erudition. (See what I mean?)

They will be useful here to reiterate what I’ve written before about middle-class “socialists” and extend it to middle-class Remainers: It is not unfair to think of (nearly all) educated, self-important, entitled, sanctimonious, pompous, arrogant, bigoted, parasitic middle class assholes as (insidious) enemies of socialism, the working class, and the people.

That, clearly, does not apply to Bertram: He’s an (enlightened) middle-class Remainer. But that goes without saying.