Capitalism "tries to shut down" conversation; "Back Seat Socialism" opens it up

I've been a professional journalist for more than 13 years; this is why I am an anticapitalist

I'm an anticapitalist for many reasons. During my lifetime, the economic system that defines all human life is destroying our planet, exacerbating income inequality, and fueling bigotries like white supremacy and patriarchy. It directly harms me both for being neurodivergent (I'm autistic and have ADHD) and being physically disabled (I can’t drive).

To understand how capitalism causes these systems of oppression, I've not only read but internalized the works of great Marxist thinkers from Karl Marx and Walter Benjamin to Kohei Saito and (in this case, a man I'm privileged to call friend) Richard Wolff.

Yet not everyone enjoys casually reading about political science, history and economics. To explain my anticapitalism to these individuals, I sometimes turn to a 2009 sketch by a cult classic comedy troupe, the Whitest Kids U Know. Starring comedians Sam Brown and the late Trevor Moore as misbehaving school kids and Timmy Williams as their surly bus driver, “Back Seat” is both funny and satirically sharp. Brown and Moore begin by performing normal juvenile pranks, but when Moore impulsively throws his lunch out of the window and Brown responds by offering to share his own, the two begin critiquing capitalism.

Their choicest observations include that socialism is “just being really nice and fair” and “everybody helping everybody else out,” while capitalism is “greed.” Capitalism only “works” because “it plays on man's biggest flaw.” Indeed, if an individual’s goal is “developing your soul and being a good person, capitalism is constantly throwing obstacles in your way,” as evidenced by the fact that “the principles that every single religion teaches are directly opposed to the principles of capitalism.”

More than a decade-and-a-half later, Williams is now a radio host at KXLG in South Dakota, where he discusses horror movies and other topics in the cultural zeitgeist. “Basically the point is that kids are pretty smart about stuff, and they're having this surprisingly intelligent conversation about things,” Williams reflected. “Then you get the bus driver that I play who tries to shut it down. I think that's a very good, quick example of how anything that is going to be outside of the capitalist way of thinking, whatever, there's a system in place that tries to shut it down.”

Moore, who passed away in 2021, told me when I wrote about the sketch for Salon that "I think there was a pretty hard critique of capitalism. I don't think there was a whole lot to read between the lines of that,” although he joked he didn’t want to sound “pink” and added their group “kind of just attack any angle that we think is funny." While I certainly do not intend to characterize Whitest Kids U Know as a definitively left-wing group, I picked “Back Seat” as my favorite among their sketches in my 2020 Salon retrospective precisely because its “pretty hard critique” is offered in such a disarmingly simple way.

Williams, Moore and Brown, whether they fully intended to or not, touched upon a profound observation. While the world needs sophisticated and brilliant scholars like Marx, Benjamin, Saito and Wolff to break down the complexities of capitalism, the reality of capitalism’s evil isn’t hard to comprehend. It can be broken down in language so simple, even a child can understand it.

That is the premise that will tie together every article in my Democracy at Work column. Capitalism is a monster with many tentacles, stretching from the sciences and culture to race, gender, religion and sexuality. It is so complicated that the news not only can be covered primarily through an anticapitalist lens; for us to accurately understand current events, they must be covered through such a lens.

At the same time, “Back Seat Socialism” will always remember the simple truths that are the foundation of any moral critique of capitalism:

1. We should be nice and fair.

2. We should help each other out.

3. We should discourage greed.

Even though I won’t definitively speak for the political views of the Whitest Kids U Know, I can speak for every left-wing anticapitalist in saying that we are united by these three core values.

As the protagonists say at the end of “Back Seat,” for these reasons the metaphorical back seat offers the ideal vantage point for observing the world around you. “Back Seat Socialism” is a place where I will invite anticapitalist thinkers to share their views. We will have fun as we explore fascinating ideas (though sans the “Back Seat” firecrackers), but we will also be serious when exploring the real suffering caused by capitalism. After all, as Williams told me when I debated The Daily Wire co-founder and editor emeritus Ben Shapiro about free school lunches, a capitalist like Shapiro “thinks every struggle that he has been too privileged to have to deal with is just a 'debate topic.'"

Because I’m a disabled, I know firsthand that these are more than abstract subjects for conversation. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I’ve never driven a car in my life, and as such have spent more of my life in back seats than most other people.

I haven’t always liked this aspect of my life — if I’m being fully candid, I often feel bitter about it — but when it comes to “Back Seat Socialism,” I will follow these precepts and as such conclude in the same way as the main character in that sketch.

“The back seat’s awesome.”

Back Seat Socialism

Column by Matthew Rozsa who is a professional journalist for more than 13 years. Currently he is writing a book for Beacon Press, "Neurosocialism," which argues that autistic people like the author struggle under capitalism, and explains how neurosocialism - the distinct anticapitalist perspective one develops by living as a neurodiverse individual - can be an important organizing principle for the left.

Twitter (X) @MatthewWRozsa