As both a seed of radicalization, and as a fun rhetorical device, those who look to move past the capitalist mode of production will often use examples of terrible bosses to prove a point. And we clearly are not lacking for these examples. Both in personal experiences and online.

But, what if your boss is alright? What if your hours don’t get cut despite massive profits? What if they don’t try to literally smell your shit after you leave the bathroom? Do you need to hate them just because they’re technically stealing the value you produce?

I would argue that no. Your boss might actually rule, its a statistical inevitability. My current boss has been pretty good to me through the years, I’d even call him a friend. Is he still a class enemy? Yes of course. But those lines were drawn before either of our births.

If we are to take the position that class, and especially poverty, are constrained to forces outside of the single proletariat’s individual control. Then we must also accept the inverse as true. There are going to be some decent human beings that are born into wealth, or become wealthy through luck.

It is possible to be a victim of capitalism, while still reaping its unearned bounty. While this may seem contradictory at first, it becomes true when one takes the focus off the individual. There are “good” capitalists, people that are civically minded, respectful, caring. Just the same as someone who self identifies as socialist can be a real piece of shit.

When I’ve expressed this sentiment online, it’s typically downvoted or shit on. Which I understand, whenever socialist discourse happens online the bootsuckers descend upon it. Their snarlwords and bad faith arguments clouding the slightly more nuanced version of apologia that I put forward.

And that is to say, Capitalism makes victims of us all, even the rich people. This is true in several facets. The rich are just as prone to depression as the rest of us. Those outside of “survivalist bunker” levels of wealth will be just as displaced by the coming ecological collapse. The commodification of every aspect of human life is just as alienating to those who can afford it.

Rich people, after all, are just people. And the same birth-lotto that places them on undue pedestals places other in destitution. If I had been born into even wealthier stock (and trust me I got pretty lucky) would I be the proponent for the working class that I am today? Who knows. And you don’t know what you would have done either.

Because in addition to not being uncomfortable enough to notice, those born into wealth are raised to believe that their wealth is not just fair, but duly earned. And how mad can you really get a someone who was raised in a cult?

We on the left can easily fall into the rhetorical trap of othering our enemies. That they’re different than us, a new species almost. And for the ultra-wealthy this is undoubtedly true. There’s nothing redeeming about someone like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos or Les Wexner. To reach billionaire level status certainly requires the ability to shut off ones humanity. They are undoubtedly monsters, and should be treated as such.

While billionaires are the seed of this, and should be held accountable. It is possible to become a millionaire accidentally. Its possible to be a millionaire through “hard work.” And it is not helpful to our cause to demonize those who are simple creatures of chance, just as we are.

The appeal of The Red Pill metaphor from The Matrix lies in its ability to convey the “discovery” of forbidden knowledge. Reading and understanding the theories of Marx and those who followed him demystifies the world around us. But at a cost, by piercing the veil of Capitalism we see a world that is concealed from almost everyone. And the fact that billions of dollars and thousands of man-hours are utilized yearly in order to keep this information concealed must not be lost on us. The dentist, and the used car lot owners of the world are our obstacles, not our enemies.

This however, is not an argument for their continued existence. The only way to ensure any sort of survival of the human race is to remove the decision making power from the wealthy, and place it into the hands of the people. This means our governments, and our businesses. We must all strive for a day where bosses and professional managers, are a thing of the past.

This requires a complete overhaul of not only our governments and corporations, but our values and traditions. And no matter how cool your boss is, he probably wouldn’t be stoked to know that you’re a Marxist. But you do not need to hate them. Pity would be a more appropriate emotion. Pity that their lives are built on a rickety tower of dead bodies, and ruined ecosystems. Pity that their hollow existences can never be satiated by the wealth they continue to accrue. And pity on what must happen to them if they look to blockade us.

But until those gears are actively in motion, you can be thankful for a boss that is fair. Because those bosses are outliers. Not giving in to the cynical, destructive nature of Capitalism is better than nothing.

As leftists we reject The Great Man Theory. So then we must reject the inverse, a Terrible Man Theory if you will. The evil of Capitalism lies in its banality. Behind so many terrible acts across the world, the driving factor simply boils down to people doing their jobs. And in order to prevent these terrible acts, we must remove the mechanics that enable them. We must fight to create a system that makes them obsolete. And the only way to do that is by building up your brothers and sisters in the working class, not carelessly tearing down someone that doesn’t know any better. Its not their fault every single piece of media supports and enables their continued existence.

Our numbers are growing. But we still don’t have the strength needed to bloodlessly take control. While violence may soon become necessary, we must still focus rhetorically on how Socialism can make your neighbors’ lives better. Not on how it will make their bosses’ lives worse. Optics unfortunately, still matter. The Capitalist lie of how Socialism is just lazy people looking for a hand out is still the predominate narrative. And its up to us to shatter that narrative.

If that doesn’t work, then we can talk about what to do with that pesky boss of yours.