Happy Labor Day weekend! I thought that for the occasion I would
feature some early union/anti-union posters, but had a hard time finding quite what
I was looking for. In the process of
searching, though, I found the following. Let us observe a snapshot of the
socialism/capitalism debate a century ago.
First up: an industrial unionist poster
from 1911.
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The Pyramid of the Capitalist System! Look at those hard workers at the bottom
there. Do you know how difficult it is
to frolick so delicately with a hammer?
Of course, some people are just idle layabouts.
So what if you’re 8 years old? That’s no excuse for passing out after a measly
10 hour day at the mill! Look, your
laziness is making that other little girl support society with a shovel.
Somewhat ironically, the “Eating” class
doesn’t have any food on the table.
Plenty of booze, though. The
shooting people look more equipped for stabbing would-be social climbers than
shooting anything – I’m not sure about the effectiveness of a cannon at the
necessary angle.
Interestingly, there is an equal number of
religious charlatans and rulers (darned trinitarianism!), so in this case the lower tier has more luxurious
space. Cooler capes and robes, too.
Ok.
Good effort, socialist unionist propaganda.
But you have made a critical error.
This poster expects the viewer to take in, like, five whole categories
of societal representation. And it has
over two dozen words. You have greatly overestimated the attention
span of the population.
1909 Conservative Party poster, show us how
it is done.
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| (Source) |
Socialism is a DEMON MONKEY FROM HELL that
will STRANGLE THE WOMEN. The end.
Is the "dainty guy with a hammer" flipping off the Eating Class? I think those cannons are probably gatling guns. The Conservative party isn't screwing around. That lil' demon monkey'll tear your face off, man. By the way, if you're the ruling party, you're going to let money be above you? You gotta use those other dudes, step on their shoulders and snatch that cash, or swim in it like Scrooge McDuck.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that the finger is actually extended, but its certainly seems that the sentiment is there. You are, of course, right about the gatling guns. Looks the the demon monkey has more of a thing for delicate throats than faces. And I think the rulers are afraid that if they open the bag of cash, some of it might accidentally spill down to the lower platforms.
DeleteNotice that the fellow holding the red flag (and his comrades) aren't helping to hold up the pyramid. Typical Communists - always talking about workers and never doing any work. The demon monkey is a bit of a short-arse compared with Lady Prosperity. Can't she defend herself with that trident?
ReplyDeleteClearly the work is best left to the women and small children - angrily waving flags and shaking fists is a real man's work.
DeleteAnd prosperity is a delicate creature - sure, it LOOKS like it has defensive safeguards in place, but those are just for show, and it can easily be maimed by any passing assailant, wild animal, strong breeze, etc.
I was wondering the same thing about Lady Prosperity as Gorilla Bananas. She armed, and she isn't even trying to save herself. No defensive wounds at all!
ReplyDeleteI guess tridents are only useful against sea creatures - who could possibly anticipate an assault by land??
DeleteThat not a pyramid. That's a weddimg cake from hell, and the monkey is not invited. People will never learn.
ReplyDeleteThat would be the most terrifying wedding cake ever. And if people learned, I'm sure society would just have a swathe of new problems. Like how to deal with the overpopulation resulting from no one killing each other or starving to death.
Delete