Need help

[blainey]

Greetings,
I'm new here so sorry if this is in the wrong section...but I need help for an oral I have in a couple of weeks. I'm fifteen, live in Australia and go to a fairly conservative private school so my circumstances aren't great but I've recently started to unlock socialist/communist ideas, to the general dismay of my teachers and friends. Obviously I'm fairly new to left wing ideas so don't shoot me down if my understanding isn't great.

The aim of my oral is to elucidate the side of capitalism that won't be reported on by mainstream media or printed in school text books. I’m basically following a format where I will explain:

·The concentration of wealth
·The disproportionate distribution of wealth
·Exploitation of workers and third world countries
·Damage that capitalism has done to the environment
·Absence of morals in capitalism (Our society should be based on the basic needs of human beings)

Can you think of anything else that I could add? Also, does anyone know where I can find specific information that I could use in regards to corporations moving jobs off shore and pillaging the third world? Or any information regarding the negatives of capitalism?

It would be fantastic if anyone could either add to and post information that could help with the oral. Any help is much appreciated.

Lech

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Welcome to the board!

I am sure many of the comrades here will; help you; I will certainly try to locate material for you.

Are you after on-line information, or printed data?

[blainey]

Anything that could help would be great.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

I'll get on to this tomorrow, and over the next few days.

It's a bit late here now.

[bloody_capitalist_sham]

welcome to the forumblainey :)


·The concentration of wealth

Well the classic facts are easily found via google. With 1% owning 80% of the wealth, and the five richest people combined own more wealth than the poorest 43 countries combined.

But wealth concentrates in capitalism along class lines. The capitalist class though are internally divided in their efforts to not go out of business.

This means that capitalists must ensure they generate as much profit as their rivals (hopefully more) in order to compete with their rivals. This means they need the profits to reinvest in new technology so they dont fall behind and it means they need to drive down wages.

This has the effect of big capital, like huge corporations, forcing smaller capital, smaller businesses out of business.


·Exploitation of workers and third world countries

All workers are exploited because when they provide a service or make a commodity or product, the capitalist pays less to the workers than he gets for the service/commodity produced.

A capitalist wont hire you unless he can make money out of the time you spend working him. :angry:

Third world countries, in global capitalism, are by and large subject to imperialism. Where the first world economies invest capital (money and stuff) in the third world countries. Then, rather than the wealth that is produced staying inside the third world country, it is taken back to the first world country, so basically the third world workers are creating wealth thats being moved to the first world. Thats what imperialism is.

I cant really answer the other questions. :(

You seem to be interested with the third world so i would have a look at imperialism.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

OK, check these out:

Basic Guide to Marxism (one of the best I've ever read):

http://www.comcen.com.au/~marcn/redflag/ar.../hmw/index.html (http://www.comcen.com.au/~marcn/redflag/archive/harman/hmw/index.html)

General articles on the things you requested:

http://www.isj1text.ble.org.uk/pubs/isj88/mcgarr.htm

http://www.isreview.org/issues/54/pharma.shtml

http://www.isreview.org/issues/54/casualties.shtml

http://www.isreview.org/issues/53/garbage.shtml

http://www.isreview.org/issues/42/morals.shtml

http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?s=contents&issue=107

http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=36&issue=101

http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article....iclenumber=9584 (http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=9584)

On Poverty:

http://www.care.org/campaigns/childrenpove...50000&WT.srch=1 (http://www.care.org/campaigns/childrenpoverty/index.asp?source=170740250000&WT.srch=1)

http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj69/cox.htm

http://www.stwr.net/content/view/1168/37/

Morality:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/19...rals/morals.htm (http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1938/morals/morals.htm)

Also, visit this blog regularly, it has features on these topics all the time:

http://www.leninology.blogspot.com/

For example, 3 recent posts:

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/06/13m...re-poverty.html (http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/06/13m-uk-kids-in-severe-poverty.html)

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/05/how...ass-murder.html (http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-sanctify-mass-murder.html)

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/05/chi...lling-game.html (http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/05/child-killing-game.html)

Michael Moore's recent film 'Sicko' has loads of stuff in it as well:

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/06/sicko.html

Check out his website for more updates and statistics:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/checkup/

Hope this is of some use!!!