Capitalist art exists merely to reproduce the current social order. Capitalist art had been used by early ruling classes for the purpose of religious activity and to glorify the kings, priests and other members of the ruling classes. 19. The ruling classes have always used and twisted artwork for their use of maintaining and improving the system of capitalism while gaining more control over the exploited. Before the rise of capital people knew how to travel based on what they knew of their geography. They could tell distinctive landmarks based on the environment around them. We still do today of course, however the difference being many people today are living in environments created and shaped by people in power, namely through art. Art serving the interests of the ruling class has been reduced to commodity production as the job or role of artist which is intertwined and reduced to forms of coercion; advertisements, signs, roadways, buildings all designed for getting certain people to their places quicker to allow the system of capital to function smoother. Art has been used by the the ruling class owned forms of mainly one way information communication that is mass media by way of different forms of communicative technologies on a mass scale. Such art invades ever more aspects of our lives from how our environments have been changed and shaped to increasly control and channel our energies to the reproduction of the current system.
Verbal and written language like art had always been used by the ruling classes to manipulate and divide the exploited through different forms of mass media and control depending on the types of technologies and techniques that were available at teh various times. Language in its written form originated for the purpose of record keeping of taxes, laws, terms of labor servitude- that is to aid in the creation and continuation of civilization and thus furthering capital around 7,000 B.C. (written language appeared around the same time- one or two thousands years apart between Egypt and Chinese civilizations) in order to allow the ruling classes of the time to control and exploit the exploited to a greater extent. 20. Language as it exists at the present particularly, shifts our focus from social relationships aimed at meeting our own unique desires to social relationships aimed at reproducing relationships which maintain the present system. It is not uncommon for people for instance to talk of 'rollerblades' as rollerblades, when rollerblades are a corporate brand of in-line skates or calling tissue paper 'Kleenex' etc. Such are examples of social identification of common community items becoming terms created for the benifit of corporations and thus capital; The state as well takes full advantage of language for the use in manipulation of the exploited. Obvious examples include propaganda telling us to hate and fear certain individuals who present a threat to the very state lying to us, including anarchists, environmentalists and other libertarians who are labeled as terrorists, discrediting any and all projects who come into conflict with capital, while constantly promoting itself positively and how the state is the friend of the exploited. The various institutions of oppression created by the ruling classes to further control out lives and enhance capital: marriage, family, religion, work, roles, technology, schooling etc. are also portrayed by the ruling classes through language and our 'culture' as positive and necessary; thus the language we speak and the culture itself is not of our own but is an organized tool used buy the ruling classes as another way to contrl and shape our lives to the use and benifit of capital.
Certainly there was resistance by those whom such institutions which were immediately part of or rose as a direct result of capitalist time, art, language, number, that were imposed on by those who rule from its beginnings such as the revolting slaves building the pyramids which could only be designed by Egyptian capitalist mathematics who turned against the Pharoah and his priests, mathematicians and official rights, to that of the Rebellion of the Red Turbans in China against civilization in general and that of capital, to the peasants who attacked and raided churches and monastaries in Fuedal Europe due to the lies and manipulations by the priests and their use of capitalist language of deceit in combination with the sysmbols of capitalist art, to those in Paris who attacked the public clocks, the neoluddite rebellions against technoologies which were directly created from capitalist mathematics, tec. all of which were carried out by the explioted themselves in response to those in power's attempts to control their lives to greater extent through capitalist time, language, number, art many of which is heavily noted in Freddy Perlman's "Against His-story, Against Leviathan" (1983). Certainly a great deal more could be written on the resistance to such institutions however the main point of this article is to point out the need to question such symbolism which I see originated and continues only to serve those who rule. By many anarcho-communists leaving out such institutions of oppression in their analysisthey are guaranteeing a world of reformed capital. A world where there would be more freedom but would still deal with other forms of domionation and oppression inherent in keeping capitalist number, art, language, time in tact and thus different forms of institutions of oppression created from them to enhacne the system of capital. THus for a scociety truly free of capital, we must do away with not only the basic institutions of oppression such as the exploitation of modern capitalism and the state, sexism, racism, religion, hate against homosexuals, money, but all institutions of oppression and therefore capitalist culture in its totality; and all that was created to enhance the system of capital- including that of time, language, number and art as they exist at the present system.
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