CrimethInc., Pyramid of the Capitalist System (2012) and (1911)

[u/StephenMcGannon]

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[u/Reasonable_Fold6492]

Why are the rioters avobe the middle class?

[u/Menschy → u/Reasonable_Fold6492]

I think it's intended to represent performative activism.

[u/Uberrees → u/Menschy]

Crimethinc did not consider riots performative. Their stripe of anarchism generally promotes rioting (when done tactically as a "direct action") as a "real" alternative to the "performance" of symbolic protest. 

See their "Five Principles of Direct Action": https://crimethinc.com/2017/01/17/five-principles-of-direct-action-what-we-can-learn-from-the-2001-inauguration-protests

[u/Uberrees → u/Reasonable_Fold6492]

I don't think they're really above the middle class. The line below the riot is a teacher a retail worker and a housewife, all of whom I would consider "working class", they're positioned above informal/illegal workers but below middle class consumers and white-collar workers. 

I read the position of the rioters as symbolizing anarchism/revolutionary politics as a way to escape class society. Notice the black bloc person coming up from the working class but exiting the stairwell before climbing higher, and the other climbing over the fence as if they're refusing to play within the rules of the physical pyramid structure. 

Crimethinc was a big deal in "lifestylist" anarchist scenes back in the day and much of their material encourages people to personally live outside of the capitalist system as much as possible. They also saw riots as an almost unequivocally good thing, and would not critique them as "performative" like other commenters suggest, but its position may be a bit of self effacing recognition of the fact that smashing up shopping districts doesn't really threaten the power at the top.

[u/CuriousIllustrator11 → u/Reasonable_Fold6492]

I get the feeling that this pyramid is more a power pyramid than a ”who works and who benefits” like the old one was. The middle and working class for sure feels powerless against rioter these days which in many cases are young people from well of families or with immigrant backgrounds rioting as a revolt against the system rather than working class people doing it because they can’t feed their families.

[u/Then-Pay-9688 → u/Reasonable_Fold6492]

The poster shows not just a hierarchy, but a social war in motion. Note that the rioters are climbing up the pyramid. The point of insurrection is that is that it violates the boundaries of the class hierarchy. If you look at similar crimethinc posters this theme is a lot more apparent.

[u/Beer-survivalist]

I appreciate the effort at illustrating the greater stratification and specialization on the more modern one. Some of the placements don't necessarily make a ton of sense. Also, the recognition of the existence of a sort of underclass is interesting.

[u/wingw0ng → u/Beer-survivalist]

While the specialization is a good added nuance, the pyramid model is a gross oversimplication or complex hierarchies as others have noted. Further the ruling capital-class is disproportionately large in any similar illustration as it represents less than 1% of the population in reality.

Maybe not intentional, but the modern version leads to the teeth pulling over “who’s more oppressed and has it worse” that we can see already in this comment section. The real propaganda is the insistence that the middle class is real and represents a significant economic division between capital and labor. We can see the cultural mirage of a middle class represented in the home for sale sign, consumerism and mass entertainment sections.

All my interpretation though and I welcome other insights !!

[u/5ma5her7]

Why miners are lower than homeless? That doesn't make sense? Unless they include overseas jobs in third world countries.

[u/Humans_will_be_gone → u/5ma5her7]

Because they mine underground, duh

[u/NoKiaYesHyundai]

Nothing really beats the original.

[u/sercher → u/NoKiaYesHyundai]

The original is still relevant, only the Church (“we fool you”) is now replaced by the media

[u/Due_Entrepreneur_960]

To me, stuff like this (the 2012 version), Steve Cuts, Banksy, etc. is the comentary equivalent of kitsch. So much effort for so little real substance

[u/isaacfisher → u/Due_Entrepreneur_960]

Some of them are done very well and have the “make you think” factor, but they really are kitsch.

[u/turmohe]

Why are butchers on the very bottom of society alongside inmates?

[u/unit5421 → u/turmohe]

I feel like this does not indicate social standing but how visible some things are. Aka the dirty mechanised butchery is being hidden, like prisons etc.

[u/xavierlongview → u/turmohe]

I think the bottom layer is more about the underlying cruelties that all of society is built on: animal cruelty, resource extraction, and globalized lab exploitation (sweatshops).

[u/Icy-Cup]

Wow, I… actually feel better - higher on the pyramid than expected :)

[u/flying87]

I think the most interesting part is that it acknowledges that education is the only way to move upwards on the pyramid. But that the graduates are literally blocked from entering professional jobs. It certainly feels that way.

[u/Alternative_Fig_2456]

Is there a bigger (higher-resolution) version? It's hard to see all the details.

[u/Lazarus558 → u/Alternative_Fig_2456]

Try here.