How the Media Uses the International Migrant Crisis Against the Working Class
Marxist Theory Monday #003
The “migrant crisis” is a popular topic right now, especially in the United States. However, rather than continue the repetitive discussion on the issue itself, this week’s Marxist exploration will focus on the language and qualitative characteristics of the attention and discourse regarding the crisis. Theories of surplus capital, capitalist exploitation, and false consciousness, all offer us an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how the interests of the ruling class are served by the media's portrayal of the migrant crisis to keep the working class divided and unable to organize.
The benefit to the ruling class of being able to hand down deliberate terms and phrases to restrict the parameter of public opinion is obvious. Perhaps the most obvious issue in media coverage concerning immigration is that it often perpetuates negative stereotypes of migrants, reinforcing the “burden on society” narrative. The example below was aired on FOX News just yesterday.
The subsequent false dichotomy, “us vs. them,” proliferates the exploitation of migrant workers by the middle class, as well as divisions within the working class. The resulting perspective of many native workers is then to view migrants as a false enemy that, despite being seen as inferior - to be trampled upon as they clean the toilets - is also perceived as a competitive threat to be contended with.
This fabricated conflict currently takes up considerable time and attention on mainstream news outlets both in the US and in Europe, and it isn’t unreasonable to ask if such resources would not be better diverted towards concrete political action. More critically, it excludes from public discourse what can be considered the ‘first half’ of the problem; why are so many peoples being displaced? The over-simplified answer that these migrants are desperate for American freedom, that they are running toward something rather than away, is only satisfactory for naive nationalists with very little international interaction.
The answer is at least partially couched in Marx’s theory of surplus capital (see Marxist theory Monday #001), which illustrates how capitalism has lead to the displacement and migration of people from the Global South to the Imperial West through the exploitation of foreign markets and never-ending military pursuits. Surplus value, however, is not a sufficient answer on its own. The public, being responsible in large part for the actions of their government, also have to turn inwards and examine from a pragmatic perspective some of the public contributions to this problem are, regardless of political affiliations.
The portrayal from media outlets associated from the American “left” has unique problems. Immigration is viewed as a humanitarian issue rather than a systemic consequence of the most foundational aspects of Western society and governance. Manipulating the public with emotionally volatile notions of sympathy and compassion transforms this very serious and material problem into a platform for politicians to weld moral superiority in party-focused political performances.
Today’s press release from the White House illustrates that, for the US, the upcoming president elections and the multi-million dollar campaigns therein have seized (and created) the economic opportunity the migrant crisis offers to the ruling establishment. Politicians have taken hold of the issues of border control, deportation, and criminal immigration legislation in order to accrue capital which by-and-large fuels the political economy in Washington, not even pretending to contribute to an ostensible solution to the crisis.
Even if the matter of government accountability were to be set aside, there still exists the issue of hundreds of thousands of impoverished people who are suffering. These people can be seen, touched, spoken to, and moreover, they can speak themselves. The only solution, therefore, must be a materialist one that, to the extent financial rather than political action is relevant, uses the available capital within the current system to stem the flow of suffering as close to its source as possible.
For further reading, outside of Marx himself of course, I would recommend exploring some of Slavoj Žižek’s input on the topic. Žižek’s exploration of what it means to be a proletariat in the modern world and how this applies to the status of refugees is a thought-provoking call for the necessary evolution of Marxist theory if it is to keep up with ever-more globalized world. Socialist organizations and media outlets such as the Monthly Review and the Revolution’s Newsstand also have valuable contributions to the discussion on the topic. As always however, the most important discourse for political development on behalf of the working class is that which is carried out in our every day lives. The more we speak, the more we’re heard.
God bless and please, enjoy and value your time this week.
-the Shultz Report by M. Shultz