Imagine Revolution

I’m going to be brief. Capitalism stinks. It doesn’t work for the overwhelming majority of the world’s people, including the majority of Americans, a fact that is a no-brainer. The devastation caused by the WTO, the World Bank, and the war zones in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Columbia, just to name a few current examples, prove that daily.  ~Feminist author, Megan Cornish

The profit system has proved itself unworthy to exist. And now with rampant environmental devastation and global warming, it threatens the very existence of the planet.

As for the likelihood of reforming it, capitalism has been around since the beginning of the 16^th Century. If it was capable of transformation into a humane and sustainable system, it would have happened by now. As my colleague Tamara Turner says, "Capitalism can’t have its cake without eating ours, too!"

So, if we’re logical about it, being anti-capitalist is easy. But to become a socialist requires believing that it is a real, workable and desirable alternative.  ~socialism.com

What is this alternative? Why socialism of course. What is socialism? How do we define it?

By socialism, what Mrs. Cornish means is the full monty socialism that is also known as communism. The difference being that the communist revolutions of the past were hampered by the capitalist opposition and the poverty of those countries where communist revolutions actually succeeded.

You see, socialism is by definition shared wealth. The revolutions that took place in Russia and other economically backward countries could only go so far, because they were held back by poverty. Whenever there is scarcity, a scramble for the good things that are in short supply is inevitable, and a consequent division into the haves and have-nots occurs. And that’s not to mention the military might brought to bear against every revolution by the imperialist countries, the US more than any other.  ~socialism.com

Tragically, this is typical of advocates of socialism, who minimize the evil that comes about from their ideology and continue to find excuses for why that is. It also shows a profound igorance of poverty and wealth. Poverty is not the result of the existance of wealth. In this day and age, after the manifest failures of communism and socialism everywhere, it is surprising to find folks who still advocate the implementation of this ideology in earnest.

Quite simply, it is public ownership of all major corporations—industry (manufacturing, services, and energy), banks and insurance companies, agribusiness, transportation, the media, schools and medical facilities. That doesn’t mean small businesses or individual belongings, but the giant enterprises that dominate the economy. These are privately owned, but their assets and profits have all been created by working people. In all fairness, they should belong to us!

Socialism is also by definition democratic. It is economic as well as political democracy. You really can’t have one without the other. We don’t have real democracy today because all the political power is in the hands of those who hold the wealth. Our last presidential election proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt. ~socialism.com

This is an accurate definition of socialism. 'Economic democracy' is an apt term. Socialism is an attempt to take economic decisions out of the hands of the individual and into the hands of politicians. Nevermind that they say that there will be no politicians. The reality is always different from the theory. No amount of talk about 'workers councils' negates the fact that they cannot allow non-socialists to make decisions contrary to the party line.

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