Food For Thought.
“What workers everywhere need is SOCIALISM. Why? Because it’s the only system that takes the wealth of society—the wealth created by workers—out of private hands. We’re not talking about taking away workers’ personal property. It’s not socialists but capitalists who are taking away workers’ homes, cars and furniture and garnisheeing their wages. We’re talking about taking the billions stolen from workers’ labor away from the whole capitalist class and using it for people’s needs”. …Deirdre Grisworld In “Digging below the Surface” published Apr. 10 Workers World. For complete article here
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I’m no economist but I read where the regulatory power of the federal reserve is going to be dramatically expanded to the point where it will exercise much deeper and more direct control over the entire banking industry. In other words, the industry is being socialized. Why? Because the capitalist class recognizes that regulation and social control is needed, especially in this period of financial crisis they (and we) are experiencing.
Capitalism has concentrated enormous wealth and created vast productive powers that can benefit the entire human race . . . but it is all being squandered to keep the rich few in power. The task of social liberation can’t be just to break down the taboos, barriers and divides that separate working people but to seize from the rich and set free the huge productive capacity that capitalism created.
So far every effort at building socialism has succeeded only in countries that existed on the fringe of capitalist production. They have had to struggle with the problem of shortages, differentials in wealth, brain-drain, bureaucratization, etc., largely because they were redistributing the very limited wealth of poor countries while encircled and attacked by imperialism.
A socialist revolution in the imperial heartland, one that deals a decisive blow to the military machinery that maintains capitalist order, will permit the genuine redistribution of wealth both domestically and around the world on an almost unimaginable scale.
But framing the question as how do revolutionaries plan for and carry out the seizure of the productive forces of the most powerful empire ever to exist reminds us instantly of the scope of the fight. The reason to have fighting, militant and disciplined political organizations is not to satisfy male machismo, stoke leaders’ egos, or provide careers for bureaucrats and opportunists but because these organizations are absolutely critical to the project of the seizure of power.
The “scope of the fight” against this empire is enough to make one stop, go home, and sit in the rocking chair. I’m no good at economic matters but I can turn the soil, plant the seeds, tend the garden, harvest the crops so the people can be fed. I believe that Socialism does indeed teach us how things should be and how we must continue the fight.
What troubles me is that the Socialist parties can not even get it together enough to forge a united left. Damn,all the windows and doors that are opening up now with all the crap going down. I have read that only the Socialist Party and The Freedom Socialist Party have joined in the support of a united left ticket.
And where are all of our progressive/liberal friends? Out supporting Clinton or Obama the choice of the powers that be. Oh,that ruling class sure can pick “our leaders” and convince otherwise honest, hardworking, decent people that they have something with their choice. So our job then is educate, continue to protest the way things are and fight for the day for the transformation of the distribution of wealth.
Peter,you may be interested in an article written by Clara Frazer one of the founders of the Freedom Socialist Party. It is called the ABC’s of Socialism and deals with economics. She was a wonderful writer. Go to www.socialism.com. Click on U.S. newspaper, click on current issue and look for feature on Clara. Good reading.
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