Nem Lawford
6th April 2011, 10:03
Hello, comrades. I'm from the midwest in the United States. I live in a very conservative state and as a child was always taught about how socialism and communism were the most evil things on the planet. For a long time I believed that under socialism everyone would receive a paycheck for the same amount no matter how much work they did, if any. That's what my parents taught me and that was even taught in the schools.
Later in high school I started seeing all the problems of the world. All the injustices that they never taught us about. Sure, my school taught me about slavery and the civil rights movement. But they always painted a picture of America being a land of perfection since then. I never learned about gay rights or American imperialism. I never learned about our "heroes" (thug soldiers) killing civilians.
I began wondering about why the rich have so much and the poor so little. I was taught the rich were successful and hardworking but it didn't make a lot of sense to me. Why would a Mexican immigrant who works 12 hour days of hard manual labor earn so little compared to some rich white executive? I started thinking that money should represent contribution to society. I asked myself if a CEO who earns $5 million per year really works 100x harder than someone who earns $50,000 per year. The answer was no. They didn't work more hours and the actual work they did wasn't any more difficult.
Then I entered college and had a true awakening. I took a political science course from a professor who was not the least bit shy about admitting he was a socialist. He said it from day one and taught us his views. One thing in particular that stuck with me was when he mentioned how "workers earn less than the wealth they produce". He taught us the truth about socialism and the lies the capitalist tell.
In the past couple of years I've done a little research on Scandinavia and how they always rank at the top of the Human Development Index (HDI) thanks to social programs. That's what did it for me and ultimately sold me on the idea of socialism. I know some of you who are more hardcore will debate about whether those countries are truly socialist. I think of it like a spectrum and clearly they come out leaning more left than the United States. These nations are much more liberal and always rank better on things like health care, standard of living, education, and equality.
I'm of course still learning more about socialism. I'm ignorant on some issues, so you'll have to forgive me. I'm always willing to learn more and I hope RevLeft can help me do that. Thank you very much for having such a great community.
Later in high school I started seeing all the problems of the world. All the injustices that they never taught us about. Sure, my school taught me about slavery and the civil rights movement. But they always painted a picture of America being a land of perfection since then. I never learned about gay rights or American imperialism. I never learned about our "heroes" (thug soldiers) killing civilians.
I began wondering about why the rich have so much and the poor so little. I was taught the rich were successful and hardworking but it didn't make a lot of sense to me. Why would a Mexican immigrant who works 12 hour days of hard manual labor earn so little compared to some rich white executive? I started thinking that money should represent contribution to society. I asked myself if a CEO who earns $5 million per year really works 100x harder than someone who earns $50,000 per year. The answer was no. They didn't work more hours and the actual work they did wasn't any more difficult.
Then I entered college and had a true awakening. I took a political science course from a professor who was not the least bit shy about admitting he was a socialist. He said it from day one and taught us his views. One thing in particular that stuck with me was when he mentioned how "workers earn less than the wealth they produce". He taught us the truth about socialism and the lies the capitalist tell.
In the past couple of years I've done a little research on Scandinavia and how they always rank at the top of the Human Development Index (HDI) thanks to social programs. That's what did it for me and ultimately sold me on the idea of socialism. I know some of you who are more hardcore will debate about whether those countries are truly socialist. I think of it like a spectrum and clearly they come out leaning more left than the United States. These nations are much more liberal and always rank better on things like health care, standard of living, education, and equality.
I'm of course still learning more about socialism. I'm ignorant on some issues, so you'll have to forgive me. I'm always willing to learn more and I hope RevLeft can help me do that. Thank you very much for having such a great community.