Class-Based Oppression

The artist in this illustration provides the general public his general outlook on

how the system treats different classes. More specifically he focusses on the topic of

taxes and how the lower class is affected by it. He addresses the capitalist mentality

where the rich pay the same amount of taxes as the power. For example a man who is

making 1 million dollars a year may be paying 25 thousand for taxes while an individual

making 50 thousand a year would pay similarly the same amount. The artist views this

as unjust and oppressive. It can be seen through the illustration that the boot which

symbolizes the system is crushing the minute people who symbolize the lower class

The artist basses his illustration on exploitation, in this scenario the lower

class are unfairly treated. Through the use of exploitation the author references

institutionalized oppression where the system is the cause of the oppression. This form

of oppression has been apparent thorough out history, from the medieval time where

the feudal system oppressed the serfs (lower class) system and granted the lords

unique privileges or the 3 estates of the French revolution where the Roman Catholic

Church was granted rights above all the other classes. This leads to the current problem

which the author addresses, the unfair tax and regulation that the government gives to

the lower class and favors the upper class. This results in the exploitation of the working

In my opinion I would agree with this oppression, although at first glance we

may perceive this as a minute problem however if you take a second glance you will

realize the how bad the current state of this oppression is. For example the upper class

tax payment is insignificant in comparison to the amount of money which they make in

contrast the lower class tax payment is much more significant and thus resulting in an

unjust treatment that they receive. This illustration clearly