Capitalism vs Communism
Whenever I tell people I'm against capitalism, they automatically assume I'm a Communist, look at me funny and tell me that history has proven that Communism doesn't work.
Communism has been pushed aside and labeled a crazy utopian dream that could never work by the very people who have the most to gain by this style of economy; the poor and middle-class. Many of us believe that it is a beautiful concept but impossible in practice, and we have written off Communism because we associate it with Stalin's perverted and authoritarian version of it.
I'm not a Communist. I am not preaching Communism, I am just saying that Communism has gotten an unfair deal. The odds were stacked against it working from the very beginning. It had to compete with Capitalism, a dog-eat-dog economic system in which competition is the name of the game. If Communism was to work it could not be in competition with competition itself. The fact that the USSR had to compete with Western Capitalism, focusing it's efforts on winning an ideological war rather than meeting the peoples' needs, was the reason why it failed.
Just because Communism didn't work in the USSR and is not working today in China does not mean that this style of economy would be impossible to put into practice. Who knows how much better off Cuba would be if the United States weren't doing everything in their power to strangle the tiny country to death. Even with the incredible and unnecessary hardships wrecked upon this island by the total embargo imposed by the United States, Cuba is still succeeding in meeting the peoples' basic needs. Free education and free health care has given Cubans a lower child mortality rate, and a higher literacy rate than the United States. Cuba also has a lower crime rate because there is very little division of wealth and class into haves and have-nots.
I am not a Communist, but when people tell me that Communism doesn't work, I flip the statement on them. Sure Communism doesn't always work, nor is it a perfect system, but our current economic system of global Capitalism is by far the most destructive force in the world today.
Capitalism doesn't work, it never has worked and it never will work. In our global Capitalist system, all the wealth and resources have been stolen by greedy billionaires, while nearly half of the worlds population live on less than $2 a day. Our Capitalist system allows the 200 richest people to greedily keep a firm grip on their combined wealth of $1 trillion while 11 million children die every year from poverty. It is Capitalism that gives logging companies the right to cut every last tree on earth in order to print junk mail. It is capitalism that gives oil companies the right to destroy the natural world, while suppressing alternative forms of energy. It is Capitalism that gives pharmaceutical companies the right to charge sick people thousands of dollars for drugs that cost pennies to make. Does this system sound like it is working?
How dare these rich economists, who have our natural world and the lives of human beings written off as externalities, present Capitalism as the only ‘working system.' If humanity is to survive on this planet we need a radically different system that does not protect these greedy Capitalists. Next time somebody tells you that Communism, anarchy, participatory economics, true cost economics, or any of our other economic options ‘doesn't work,' ask them to explain how Capitalism works.
October 17 is the International day for the eradication of poverty: contribute in any way you can to stop the poverty that capitalism has created.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Communism has been pushed aside and labeled a crazy utopian dream that could never work by the very people who have the most to gain by this style of economy; the poor and middle-class. Many of us believe that it is a beautiful concept but impossible in practice, and we have written off Communism because we associate it with Stalin's perverted and authoritarian version of it.
I'm not a Communist. I am not preaching Communism, I am just saying that Communism has gotten an unfair deal. The odds were stacked against it working from the very beginning. It had to compete with Capitalism, a dog-eat-dog economic system in which competition is the name of the game. If Communism was to work it could not be in competition with competition itself. The fact that the USSR had to compete with Western Capitalism, focusing it's efforts on winning an ideological war rather than meeting the peoples' needs, was the reason why it failed.
Just because Communism didn't work in the USSR and is not working today in China does not mean that this style of economy would be impossible to put into practice. Who knows how much better off Cuba would be if the United States weren't doing everything in their power to strangle the tiny country to death. Even with the incredible and unnecessary hardships wrecked upon this island by the total embargo imposed by the United States, Cuba is still succeeding in meeting the peoples' basic needs. Free education and free health care has given Cubans a lower child mortality rate, and a higher literacy rate than the United States. Cuba also has a lower crime rate because there is very little division of wealth and class into haves and have-nots.
I am not a Communist, but when people tell me that Communism doesn't work, I flip the statement on them. Sure Communism doesn't always work, nor is it a perfect system, but our current economic system of global Capitalism is by far the most destructive force in the world today.
Capitalism doesn't work, it never has worked and it never will work. In our global Capitalist system, all the wealth and resources have been stolen by greedy billionaires, while nearly half of the worlds population live on less than $2 a day. Our Capitalist system allows the 200 richest people to greedily keep a firm grip on their combined wealth of $1 trillion while 11 million children die every year from poverty. It is Capitalism that gives logging companies the right to cut every last tree on earth in order to print junk mail. It is capitalism that gives oil companies the right to destroy the natural world, while suppressing alternative forms of energy. It is Capitalism that gives pharmaceutical companies the right to charge sick people thousands of dollars for drugs that cost pennies to make. Does this system sound like it is working?
How dare these rich economists, who have our natural world and the lives of human beings written off as externalities, present Capitalism as the only ‘working system.' If humanity is to survive on this planet we need a radically different system that does not protect these greedy Capitalists. Next time somebody tells you that Communism, anarchy, participatory economics, true cost economics, or any of our other economic options ‘doesn't work,' ask them to explain how Capitalism works.
October 17 is the International day for the eradication of poverty: contribute in any way you can to stop the poverty that capitalism has created.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
