Look alive, sunshine!

amodernmanifesto:

advizortoall:

OK, so i doesn’t work, give me ONE system that works better AND
1) Preserves my civil rights
2) Leave me in charge of my life, wealth, career, and family
3) Does NOT impinge on my right to object to the government’s policy
4) That meets the needs of the entire world for food, technology, innovation, and growth.
5) That works for a higher % of the people served by capitalism and maintains peace growth, prosperity, and freedom for more than 200 years.

Then come back to me with your complaints

Okay, I will now argue that most forms of socialism, including Democratic Socialism, Revolutionary Socialism, Revolutionary Syndicalism can do all the things you have listed, and argue that capitalism does not do any of those things for all of humanity, but only some of them.

Civil Rights. By this I assume we are meaning the rights to freedom of speech, association, free and fair elections, a free press. Well yeah, as a socialist (revolutionary socialist to be precise), I can say that I totally want all of those things. In fact, a truly socialist society could not function without these rights, because the democratic management of the economy (the cornerstone of socialist society) requires constant participation on behalf of its members.

Conversely, capitalism has proven that it can function perfectly well without democracy. Mbutu in the Congo, Pinochet in Chile, the Shah of Iran, these were capitalist dictatorships (all of them put in place by the US government) that definitely didn’t guarantee civil liberties. Also, the so called democratic states of capitalism, such as the UK and the USA have only recently extended full suffrage, and even there have curtailed civil liberties to weed out dissent (cointelpro for example).

Your right to your life, career, wealth and family. Well, I have a different answer to all of these. Socialism will give you far more control of your life. Your work for example, will be opened up from a labour exhaustive and emotionally draining activity, into a creative process of co-operation. The experience of popular control of the means of production is very different to capitalist labour. On top of that, I totally encourage people to take up different styles of living, take up art and music, and with the rational planning of the economy the amount of leisure time we can enjoy will only increase.

Your career… Well, the career is a capitalist concept. What will you do with your time? Well a more decentralised economic model would encourage everyone to earn many different skills, and ease into the old Marxist idea of a society where each person can do many different activities without it being their “career”.

Wealth is different. Obviously you would lose control of your private wealth, if you own a large business. However, for most people, their personal possessions will be left. In fact, the people’s bank which would replace the capitalist banking system would not use your personal wealth to invest in bad mortgages. So that will probably make your personal savings safer. If you are not a multimillionaire, we aren’t really interested in your stuff.

Your family. Well, I believe in treating each member of a family as an individual with the right to choice and liberty (because the nuclear family is a creation of capitalist society). But if you mean you want government interference out of the family sphere, then yeah sure.

Okay your third point: absolutely. The right to hold a minority opinion would be totally ensured in a socialist constitution and you have the right to object to everything that happens. On top of that, I can guarantee that our extension of local and participatory democracy will probably end up with you being actively involved in making many government decisions. The lines between government and people would be blurred more and more as more power is handed to local councils. If you want to have a little image of that:

Actually the fourth point is essentially the central premise of socialism. The productive forces exist to feed and house the planet, and to care for the environment. Yet under capitalism we cannot use them to this end, because it simply isn’t profitable. Socialism would create a democratically managed, planned economy that ensures, as its primary principle, that everyone has a reasonable standard of living in the most environmentally sustainable way possible. We can do that. Computer modelling and advanced statistics can be incredibly useful in that respect.

And finally, socialism can easily help more people than capitalism can. Capitalism, in the final analysis, benefits centrally the owners of the means of production. Following that, it fortifies itself by buying off sections of the masses in industrialised nations at the expense of the exploited periphery nations. But it can never help everyone. To the capitalist, poverty in the third world is profit. Poor people are more desperate. As long is there is still a market for your goods, they will smash and thrash people until they are as poor as possible.

Socialism is based on the common wellbeing of all. Yeah sure, there would need to be a lot of industry expropriated from the millionaires, but they are tiny minority compared to the masses of people who would benefit.

Also are you saying that capitalism has ensured 200 years of peace, freedom and prosperity for the people of the USA? Because in between the union breaking, povery causing capitalist industrialists, the USA is based on the genocide of one nation and the enslavement of another. That is what built 200 years of prosperity for the ruling class.

And it damn well is not peace nor freedom. Wasn’t then, and it isn’t now.

toxicteardrops:

l-ovelynialler:

from left to right;

I am afraid to hold my boyfriend’s hand.

My friend’s parents sent her away.

I found death threats in my locker.

I submitted to electroshock therapy.

I lost half my friends after coming out.

My grandmother sends me hate mail.

My school won’t let me take my date to prom.

I am not here anymore.

My dad tried to beat it out of me.

No one is proud of me.

This showed up on my blog again. Forever reblog.

The “I am not here anymore.” 

Oh my. This hit hard.

(Source: lui19h, via 24601ofakind)