Oktyabr
28th April 2009, 01:46
This is a paper I wrote for school calling for revolution. Please tell me what you think:
In Our Society
The wants of the Few, and the needs of the Many
The America we know today is reeling from the blows of an economic fallout the likes of which have occurred on a regular basis ever since the founding
of this country. When the upper class businessmen and bankers invest massive amounts of money into stocks, and the stocks then lose their value, why do they never seem to pay for it? It is as if the shockwaves of such an event only reach a crescendo when the hit those who have the least money and have greater need of it. So are the members of our government contempt to let the working class, the backbone of American society and industry, suffer every dozen years on the basis that they will recover and forget it happened? The truth, in all actuality, is yes.
In our own nation, there are systems of checks and balances to keep any one faction from growing too powerful or misusing its power. But nowhere in the entire country is there a system for the citizens of America to check the large businesses to be sure that they do not abuse their power. Not even the government thoroughly manages these massive businesses that, as recently proven, control the fate of millions of Americans. But there is no need to monitor your fellow conspirators. Almost routinely every decade or so, the business and bank managers over invest in stocks, causing them to lose their value at a rapid rate. This leads to many large businesses declaring bankruptcy, along with the banks that pursued them into this idiotic game of fate. These fallouts tend to arrive after times of great prosperity, and cause a ceaseless cycle of job loss, money loss, and poverty. These crises are spaced out just so finely that our leaders would never suspect that they are coming years before they arrive. But this is an undeniable fact.
The blame lies at the heart of our capitalist system. Capitalism is a system developed by the rich that makes it legal to obtain cheap labor in the form of underpaid workers, as well as legal to cheat them out of most of the fruits of their labor. Following times of great prosperity, the combined shocks of stock market/business/bank fallouts swindle even more of the precious few dollars of the working class. This provides a constant stream of cheap labor, as citizens, indebted by the sudden monetary crisis, search desperately for work, no matter how low paying or undignified the duty. This is a system willing to tolerate the abuse of worker’s rights, manipulation of the lower classes by the upper classes, social injustice/inequality, and the very crisis that is unfolding around us. It is wielded as a tool of the rich to keep the working class citizens of all nations from the necessities of life. Through capitalism, the rich in our society, ever seeking additional wealth and power, gain influence and gradually ascend the structures we built through our own sweat and blood until they are in a position to rule over us and keep us “in check”.
Simply because the rich control the means of production, and we do not, it is their belief that they are superior to us. We, on the other hand, are reduced by capitalism to selling our own labor in order to live. Thus, we become slaves of ruthless masters, who see it as their duty to thieve and abuse us so that they may extract surplus value from our backbreaking duties.
Name a member of congress who comes from a working class family. At most, you will only be able to name 1 or 2. What does this say of the people running our government? They claim to support our needs, and to be friends of the people, but the relationship is essentially that of a business manager to his workers. Congress is most likely 98% upper class, possibly more. What experiences have the rich ever had that involves starvation, homelessness, joblessness, or poverty for that matter? Do they have any idea of the misery of several million Americans, who have lost their jobs due to the actions of the rich investors? And why do they continue to throw money into the fire by handing over trillions of dollars (paid for by hardworking Americans through taxes, money that should be going into paying for healthcare and food for the poor) to the same bank and business managers who caused this crisis in the first place? Are they afraid to give money to the working class, who has always had great need of money to support their shambles of an existence, simply because they might grow too powerful for the rich to control? And yet, despite the proposed reforms and solutions, the poor continue to suffer while the rich lose what is only a minimal amount of their wealth to the recession.
On the other hand, the benefits of a Marxist society are numerous. Marxism entitles democracy (direct democracy where all citizens can participate in the government); the elimination of currency; free healthcare; free necessities; tolerance of ethnic groups; and places the means of production in the hands of the people. All citizens are guaranteed equal social and political rights. No one can be denied food, shelter, or clothing simply because they cannot pay the industries for them. As a Marxist society is one of direct democracy, every citizen has the right to take part in the government and make their needs heard. Additionally, the elimination of currency would permit the people to focus less on means of profiting, and more on aiding their fellow human beings. The elimination of capitalism would thus free the people to work collectively, not for private profit, but for their fellow citizens. This mandatory collective working would drastically reduce the number of work hours and intensity of the work required. Though it may be obligatory, this work is not for the growth of mass industries, rather to feed, shelter and clothe the Americans who cannot claim the necessities of life under capitalism. Certainly, this is far more agreeable than working for the sole benefit of the business owner, for an amount of money decided by the business owner, for however long the business owner decides you must work.
In dozens of third world countries, suffering under the harsh yoke of capitalist dictatorships (Guatemala, Nicaragua, pre 1959 Cuba, Bolivia, pre 1920’s China, Vietnam, Angola, pre 1910 Mexico, pre 1930’s Spain), people sought a means of escape from the harsh realities of strict capitalism. People were forced into poverty, starvation, and to provide cheap labor due to their lack of wealth and increasing debt to banks and industries. Some would declare it utopian to eliminate capitalism. However, considering the spate of revolutions that shook the world after the end of World War One (The Russian (1917), German (1919-1923), Hungarian (1919), and Italian (1920), this is merely a continuation of the struggle against capitalism. In short, old theories adapted to modern circumstances. To this day, the Zapatistas in Mexico struggle to fight against the poverty in the Chiapas region that remains unacknowledged by the Mexican government (this region’s poverty was only made worse by the NAFTA agreement in the 1990’s that lead to the collapse of the Mexican economy).
The corporate monsters such as AIG are crumbling, and with it the backbone of the American capitalist economy. The government finds it more important to prop up collapsing businesses, the tools of the upper class, than to aid the uncountable masses of poor that suffer year in and year out in America. This is the foolishness of capitalism put on show for all to see. The every-man-for-himself nature of capitalist societies forgets that not all are born with the capacity to financially support themselves (money is power in capitalism). Thus, innocent people are forced into manual labor to support their families, rather than benefit the whole of society by becoming the writer, intellectual, doctor, or teacher that they would have been.
This country is the heart of the capitalist and imperialist world, and American armed forces and political policies under capitalism have manipulated, tortured, stamped out, and massacred too many times across the globe to count. Imperialism is a direct outgrowth of the capitalist system and class antagonism: wealthy countries such as the United States seek control of poor nations, such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Bolivia, by backing oppressive right-wing conservative movements that are pro-capitalist and seek to crush popular left wing movements wherever they arise. These poor nations, once in right wing hands, then become subservient to the countries that provided them with funding and arms as they become indebted to the rich capitalist nations. This provides the imperialist capitalist countries a chance to intervene in the politics and economies of the said poor nations. These countries lose their sovereignty and independence, most visibly seen in 1898, when the American government aided the Cubans in overthrowing the Spanish rule of their country. The Cuban government soon found itself founded by a constitution written to American terms, with large industrial and agricultural areas given to wealthy Americans. Nothing in the constitution was written to benefit the people of Cuba, many of whom had been reduced to poverty by the capitalist system introduced by the Spanish. Nothing was done about the sorry state of Cuban society until Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, where he built thousands of schools, modernized the Cuban industry, provided housing for Cuban workers, and helped raise the Cuban literacy rate from 5% to 96% in less than 40 years.
Americans everywhere must seek to eliminate the harsh cruelty and modern slavery of capitalism. It promotes imperialism, private slavery, social and political injustice, and is perfectly tolerant to the abuse of people less fortunate than ourselves. It is failing before our very eyes, yet we make not a single effort to clear the slate and begin anew. The private life is a life of selfishness and narcissism. Eliminate private ownership, and you eliminate public manipulation. The struggle between capitalism and socialism is the struggle between the interest of the few, and the needs of the many. Unless action is taken soon, the ropes of capitalism will be bound too tightly around us for there to be any solution, and we shall be dragged down to barbarism. A world of tolerance, fairness, equality, and harmony awaits us. The question is, are you willing to rise up and win it?
In Our Society
The wants of the Few, and the needs of the Many
The America we know today is reeling from the blows of an economic fallout the likes of which have occurred on a regular basis ever since the founding
of this country. When the upper class businessmen and bankers invest massive amounts of money into stocks, and the stocks then lose their value, why do they never seem to pay for it? It is as if the shockwaves of such an event only reach a crescendo when the hit those who have the least money and have greater need of it. So are the members of our government contempt to let the working class, the backbone of American society and industry, suffer every dozen years on the basis that they will recover and forget it happened? The truth, in all actuality, is yes.
In our own nation, there are systems of checks and balances to keep any one faction from growing too powerful or misusing its power. But nowhere in the entire country is there a system for the citizens of America to check the large businesses to be sure that they do not abuse their power. Not even the government thoroughly manages these massive businesses that, as recently proven, control the fate of millions of Americans. But there is no need to monitor your fellow conspirators. Almost routinely every decade or so, the business and bank managers over invest in stocks, causing them to lose their value at a rapid rate. This leads to many large businesses declaring bankruptcy, along with the banks that pursued them into this idiotic game of fate. These fallouts tend to arrive after times of great prosperity, and cause a ceaseless cycle of job loss, money loss, and poverty. These crises are spaced out just so finely that our leaders would never suspect that they are coming years before they arrive. But this is an undeniable fact.
The blame lies at the heart of our capitalist system. Capitalism is a system developed by the rich that makes it legal to obtain cheap labor in the form of underpaid workers, as well as legal to cheat them out of most of the fruits of their labor. Following times of great prosperity, the combined shocks of stock market/business/bank fallouts swindle even more of the precious few dollars of the working class. This provides a constant stream of cheap labor, as citizens, indebted by the sudden monetary crisis, search desperately for work, no matter how low paying or undignified the duty. This is a system willing to tolerate the abuse of worker’s rights, manipulation of the lower classes by the upper classes, social injustice/inequality, and the very crisis that is unfolding around us. It is wielded as a tool of the rich to keep the working class citizens of all nations from the necessities of life. Through capitalism, the rich in our society, ever seeking additional wealth and power, gain influence and gradually ascend the structures we built through our own sweat and blood until they are in a position to rule over us and keep us “in check”.
Simply because the rich control the means of production, and we do not, it is their belief that they are superior to us. We, on the other hand, are reduced by capitalism to selling our own labor in order to live. Thus, we become slaves of ruthless masters, who see it as their duty to thieve and abuse us so that they may extract surplus value from our backbreaking duties.
Name a member of congress who comes from a working class family. At most, you will only be able to name 1 or 2. What does this say of the people running our government? They claim to support our needs, and to be friends of the people, but the relationship is essentially that of a business manager to his workers. Congress is most likely 98% upper class, possibly more. What experiences have the rich ever had that involves starvation, homelessness, joblessness, or poverty for that matter? Do they have any idea of the misery of several million Americans, who have lost their jobs due to the actions of the rich investors? And why do they continue to throw money into the fire by handing over trillions of dollars (paid for by hardworking Americans through taxes, money that should be going into paying for healthcare and food for the poor) to the same bank and business managers who caused this crisis in the first place? Are they afraid to give money to the working class, who has always had great need of money to support their shambles of an existence, simply because they might grow too powerful for the rich to control? And yet, despite the proposed reforms and solutions, the poor continue to suffer while the rich lose what is only a minimal amount of their wealth to the recession.
On the other hand, the benefits of a Marxist society are numerous. Marxism entitles democracy (direct democracy where all citizens can participate in the government); the elimination of currency; free healthcare; free necessities; tolerance of ethnic groups; and places the means of production in the hands of the people. All citizens are guaranteed equal social and political rights. No one can be denied food, shelter, or clothing simply because they cannot pay the industries for them. As a Marxist society is one of direct democracy, every citizen has the right to take part in the government and make their needs heard. Additionally, the elimination of currency would permit the people to focus less on means of profiting, and more on aiding their fellow human beings. The elimination of capitalism would thus free the people to work collectively, not for private profit, but for their fellow citizens. This mandatory collective working would drastically reduce the number of work hours and intensity of the work required. Though it may be obligatory, this work is not for the growth of mass industries, rather to feed, shelter and clothe the Americans who cannot claim the necessities of life under capitalism. Certainly, this is far more agreeable than working for the sole benefit of the business owner, for an amount of money decided by the business owner, for however long the business owner decides you must work.
In dozens of third world countries, suffering under the harsh yoke of capitalist dictatorships (Guatemala, Nicaragua, pre 1959 Cuba, Bolivia, pre 1920’s China, Vietnam, Angola, pre 1910 Mexico, pre 1930’s Spain), people sought a means of escape from the harsh realities of strict capitalism. People were forced into poverty, starvation, and to provide cheap labor due to their lack of wealth and increasing debt to banks and industries. Some would declare it utopian to eliminate capitalism. However, considering the spate of revolutions that shook the world after the end of World War One (The Russian (1917), German (1919-1923), Hungarian (1919), and Italian (1920), this is merely a continuation of the struggle against capitalism. In short, old theories adapted to modern circumstances. To this day, the Zapatistas in Mexico struggle to fight against the poverty in the Chiapas region that remains unacknowledged by the Mexican government (this region’s poverty was only made worse by the NAFTA agreement in the 1990’s that lead to the collapse of the Mexican economy).
The corporate monsters such as AIG are crumbling, and with it the backbone of the American capitalist economy. The government finds it more important to prop up collapsing businesses, the tools of the upper class, than to aid the uncountable masses of poor that suffer year in and year out in America. This is the foolishness of capitalism put on show for all to see. The every-man-for-himself nature of capitalist societies forgets that not all are born with the capacity to financially support themselves (money is power in capitalism). Thus, innocent people are forced into manual labor to support their families, rather than benefit the whole of society by becoming the writer, intellectual, doctor, or teacher that they would have been.
This country is the heart of the capitalist and imperialist world, and American armed forces and political policies under capitalism have manipulated, tortured, stamped out, and massacred too many times across the globe to count. Imperialism is a direct outgrowth of the capitalist system and class antagonism: wealthy countries such as the United States seek control of poor nations, such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Bolivia, by backing oppressive right-wing conservative movements that are pro-capitalist and seek to crush popular left wing movements wherever they arise. These poor nations, once in right wing hands, then become subservient to the countries that provided them with funding and arms as they become indebted to the rich capitalist nations. This provides the imperialist capitalist countries a chance to intervene in the politics and economies of the said poor nations. These countries lose their sovereignty and independence, most visibly seen in 1898, when the American government aided the Cubans in overthrowing the Spanish rule of their country. The Cuban government soon found itself founded by a constitution written to American terms, with large industrial and agricultural areas given to wealthy Americans. Nothing in the constitution was written to benefit the people of Cuba, many of whom had been reduced to poverty by the capitalist system introduced by the Spanish. Nothing was done about the sorry state of Cuban society until Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, where he built thousands of schools, modernized the Cuban industry, provided housing for Cuban workers, and helped raise the Cuban literacy rate from 5% to 96% in less than 40 years.
Americans everywhere must seek to eliminate the harsh cruelty and modern slavery of capitalism. It promotes imperialism, private slavery, social and political injustice, and is perfectly tolerant to the abuse of people less fortunate than ourselves. It is failing before our very eyes, yet we make not a single effort to clear the slate and begin anew. The private life is a life of selfishness and narcissism. Eliminate private ownership, and you eliminate public manipulation. The struggle between capitalism and socialism is the struggle between the interest of the few, and the needs of the many. Unless action is taken soon, the ropes of capitalism will be bound too tightly around us for there to be any solution, and we shall be dragged down to barbarism. A world of tolerance, fairness, equality, and harmony awaits us. The question is, are you willing to rise up and win it?