This is a fantastic thread here on RevLeft for that kind of thing. I haven't got all the way through it yet, but it's worth a read.
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Socialism for Dummies
How do I convince high school seniors that Socialism is better than Capitalism?
Economic Left/Right: -9.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.62
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one" - Albert Einstein
This is a fantastic thread here on RevLeft for that kind of thing. I haven't got all the way through it yet, but it's worth a read.
I'm with you on this man. I can't seem to convince kids even though I know I present the right arguments. I guess what I am looking for is "converts" hard to do because kids are either apathetic or righties. Or liberal lol.
I'll come up with an argument for socialism, then they'll say the next day that capitalism is better because communism failed in the USA because Robert Owen's community failed. Because that's what the history books/teacher say.
Sic Semper Tyrannis
It's for a persuasive speech, high schoolers are apathetic as fuck.
Economic Left/Right: -9.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.62
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one" - Albert Einstein
One thing you can do is show them how the greed of capitalism has lead company's to commit crimes against humanity by using labor from Child slaves and sweat shops.
Tell them about how in America if you get social security benefits you will lose those benefits if you get a job. This is all to make sure that the lower class stays that way by the power hungry politicians.
Persuade them to go and see Michael Moore's last film.
Last edited by Rosa Lichtenstein; 30th November 2010 at 12:52.
Explain to them about:
(1) the historical denial of rights under capitalism, including slavery;
(2) how people constantly had to fight against their own capitalist governments for their rights;
(3) how working people had to struggle for a decent life;
(4) how our rights are being eroded by capitalism;
(5) how the standard of living of working people has actually declined over the past 30 years;
(6) how capitalism has fucked up the ecoology of the world;
(7) how capitalism has undermined itself in the current crisis;
(8) how capitalism supports reactionary religion, general ignorance, sex repression, etc.
That'll do for openers.
RED DAVE
Wait until they graduate and have to get a job. If they go to university they will be more open to it perhaps from exposure in class (depending which college they attend). High school kids are usually stubborn and tainted by their parents ideology. Not all of them of course but some real world experience in a working class job will make a world of difference.
You can't be serious. Perhaps if you're looking for a dialectical approach to radicalization.
""Do you support democracy in the political institutions?
Then you should also support democracy in economic institutions."
If they protest to the second with some problem with democracy in the economy, then use that same retort against the political democracy, and make them justify economic democracy (which is what socialism is) by justifying governmental democracy. If they can't justify or don't justify governmental democracy, be prepared to do that as well.
That's a pretty easy and effective means of convincing someone of "socialism", though I discourage use of that term in most public settings by those who actually support this radical democracy, due to the fact that this is not what the word socialism means to most in modern society."
This is something I post pretty frequently in response to people who ask this question. I think it's a pretty effective answer.
Capitalism is fundamentally a system where a professional body of armed and trained individuals that acts in concert (the state) forces society to accept individuals who hold pieces of paper mentioning things in the world (“private property” - land, capital, money, and information) as having despotic control over everyone who uses their (landowners, corporations, banks, and copyright companies) “property” and to charge them a tax for said use (rent, profit, interest, and copy-tax).
Socialism 101
Income inequality, environmental injustice, social prejudice, economic crises, and the rest are fundamentally the result of various power inequalities.
It's really easy to be a big, bad revolutionary and criticize Moore. Annd, yes, he's a social democrat. But as an introduction to what's wrong with capitalism, Moore is find.
RED DAVE
Moore's Capitalism was a good intro for me
An Injury to One is an Injury to All