Socialism - A World Community

“All humanity is one undivided and indivisible family.” Gandhi

The profit-driven capitalist system—marked by the anarchy of production and the furious chase for markets, the division of the world into nation-states and the accompanying rivalries—will remain a fundamental barrier to addressing climate change. The goal of socialists is not to reduce people’s wants to some preconceived minimum. Rather, it is to realise and expand those wants. In a socialist society, everyone will have access to the great variety of material and cultural wealth accumulated over the course of civilisation. Consider what is required to do research in particle physics or to investigate the archaeological remains of ancient civilisations. Socialists aspire to a future society in which all can pursue the creative scientific and cultural work hitherto restricted to a privileged few. Progress in human development, i.e., ending misery and want, will not result from curtailing production but from raising it to unparalleled heights. Socialism is a society of material abundance.

Before the rise of capitalism, trade was simpler. Say you’re a bread maker, but you need shoes. So you swap the commodity you have for another commodity of equal value, and you use money as a simple intermediary to make that exchange possible. With capitalism rather than the purpose of exchange being a utilitarian one (I make such and such commodities, I need something else), the sole purpose of exchange is money. In this case commodities become nothing more than the intermediaries to make more money. Which commodities are made in order to increase capital, are completely incidental. As one magnate said “We’re not in business to make steel... We’re in business to make money.”

Every capitalist, in order to survive and out-compete others in the industry has to worry about just one thing: How to make some amount of money into more money. Whether or not the products are useful, rational, fulfill needs, or whether they create landfills full of crap, exists nowhere as a policy in corporate budgeting strategies.  So, for instance, mass production of any commodity is generally the most efficient way for capitalists to turn a profit. In the case of agriculture this leads to monoculture farming, which is a disaster of a system. It both depletes the soil and creates a need for artificial pesticides, basically poisoning both the earth and us at the same time.

Even if one company were to spend the resources necessary to cut down on pollution, carbon emissions, and waste, it would be competing with companies that don’t do this and can therefore sell their products more cheaply and in greater numbers, and the responsible company would quickly find itself pushed out of its necessary market share. Capitalism therefore promotes a built-in focus on short-term profitability to stay ahead of the game, with regard only to the money at the end of the process, rather than the utility or rationality of what is produced.

Of course a focus on short term gains is deadly for the environment, which by definition is a long-term issue. As Marx put it: “The way that the cultivation of particular crops depends on fluctuations in market prices and the constant change in cultivation with these prices—the entire spirit of capitalist production, which is oriented towards the most immediate monetary profits—stands in contradiction with agriculture, which has to concern itself with the whole gamut of permanent conditions of life required by the chain of successive generations.”

There has to be constant growth for individual capitalists in order to stay competitive. The more they make at the end of the production cycle, the more they can invest in the next round of production and the more they can invest in newer/cost-saving technologies to beat out their competitors. This process then also feeds a system-wide growth in which more and more is constantly being produced. Capitalism goes into crisis if it isn’t constantly growing.

What do we all want? We want to be all that we can be. And we want this not only for ourselves. We want our families and our loved ones to be able to develop all of their potential—that we all get what we need for our development. To each according to her need for development. If we are going to talk about the possibility of human development, we have to recognize that a precondition for that development is sufficient food, good health, education, and the opportunity to make decisions for ourselves. How can we possibly develop all our potential if we are hungry, in bad health, poorly educated, or dominated by others? Secondly, since we are not identical, what we need for our own self-development obviously differs for everyone. Engels asked, “What is the aim of the Communists?” He answered, “To organise society in such a way that every member of it can develop and use all his capabilities and powers in complete freedom and without thereby infringing the basic conditions of this society.” Marx summed it all up in the final version of the Manifesto by saying that the goal is “an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.” Our goal, in short, cannot be a society in which some people are able to develop their capabilities and others are not; we are interdependent, we are all members of a human family. The full development of all human potential is our goal.

The moment we realise that a society based on money and profit has become counterproductive we have reached understanding. The moment we realise that our task and mandate as a human family is to build a world based explicitly on cooperation we have acquired consciousness. A cooperative commonwealth (or human family, if you prefer), our global society, and its economy, would be controlled by everyone, together, not just a small group, whether that group was the tiny corporate "ruling class" of the capitalist nations, or "the party" of the totalitarian nations (Cuba, China, North Korea, former Soviet Union, etc.). Economic activity as one human family would occur cooperatively, to satisfy human need and want, not to allow a tiny group of owners or power-holders to accumulate vast riches. It would be a dramatically new and different society, offering a way of life we can only dream of under our present system. The reality is, every problem we face as human beings is either caused by the normal operation of our money-and-profit system (i.e. "capitalism"), or exacerbated by it. In fact:  it is the natural, normal operation of our money-and-profit-based system that causes, or worsens, each and every social (which includes economic) problem we face. Thus, if we really want to eradicate these problems, we must begin to work toward ordering our society in a manner that reflects the reality of who and what we are: brothers and sisters in one human family. This would create a whole new framework that would allow for the solution of many problems that are simply unsolvable under capitalism. The new socialist cooperative framework would be broad and flexible, while our present capitalist framework is obviously and undeniably rigid and constraining.

Socialism will establish a community of interests. The development of the individual will enhance the lives of other men. Equality will manifest attitudes of co-operation. The individual will enjoy the security of being integrated with society at large. Socialism will end national barriers. The human family will have freedom of movement over the entire earth. Socialism would facilitate universal human contact but at the same time would take care to preserve diversity. Variety in language, music, handicrafts, art forms and diet etc will add to all human experience. Socialism does not try to "make everyone of the same." Quite the opposite. Socialism advocates more freedom and individual expression for people, not less. Whether it's freedom of expression or sexual freedom, socialism advocates increasing freedom.

The negative inter-related consequences of living under such a perverse system as capitalism are many and varied plus painful: disharmony, depression, anxiety, and loneliness are some of the effects of the resulting dis-connect – with ourselves, with others, and with the natural environment. Worldwide, according to Psychology Today, the numbers suffering from loneliness are at epidemic levels, and, with an aging population throughout the west, are expected to continue to rise. John Cacioppo, author of ‘Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection’ relates that in the 1980s “scholars estimated 20% of people in the US felt lonely at any given time, now it’s thought to be over 40%”. According to Cacioppa can cause lonely people to “feel others around them are threats rather than sources of cooperation and compassion.” Like many associated mental health illnesses, loneliness is stigmatized and seen, Cocioppo relates, as “the psychological equivalent of being a loser in life, or a weak person.” In a world where being tough, successful and ‘driven’ are championed, weakness (particularly in men) and other such inadequacies are frowned upon. As a result people deny loneliness, which is a mistake, as this suffocating condition can increase the risk of an early death by a staggering 45%, higher than both obesity and excessive alcohol consumption.

The ideal social unit for the benefit of the ‘Masters of the Universe’, as Adam Smith famously called them, is “you and your television set”, Noam Chomsky has said; in a world devoid of community spirit, where selfishness is encouraged, “If the kid next door is hungry, it's not your problem. If the retired couples next door invested their assets badly and are now starving, that's not your problem either.” Social unity and human compassion are the enemies of the elite and an unjust system, which promotes values of greed and indifference. Such values divide and separate, creating the conditions in which loneliness is almost inevitable. Selfishness and accumulation are encouraged; individual ambition and the competitive spirit, which “destroys all feelings of human fraternity and cooperation,” Albert Einstein said, and “conceives of achievement not as derived from the love for productive and thoughtful work, but as springing from personal ambition and fear of rejection,” pervade and largely dominate all areas of life.

“If humanity is to progress towards a new and peaceful way of living, such values, which creating the conditions in which loneliness is almost inevitable, need to give way to other more positive ideals. Cooperation instead of competition for example, will cultivate tolerance and understanding where suspicion and selfishness prevail, allowing communities to come together, strengthening unity – a primary need of our troubled times… So what is the answer? A strong social network, purpose and structure, and supportive relationships are crucial, but do these address the underlying emptiness, which triggers the loneliness? … The current socio-economic model is a poisonous system based on negative values; it has polluted the planet and is making us unhappy and ill in a variety of ways. It is a system that ardently promotes material success and the indulgence of personal desires. All of which encourages dependence on methods of ‘escape’ of one kind or another – drugs (prescribed, legal and illegal), alcohol, sex, entertainments in all shapes and sizes – including organized religion, to fill the chasm of loneliness, and keep the mind in a constant state of agitation and discontent…” (from here) h