|
|
Concepts of Socialism
By Punkerslut
Introduction - What Is Socialism?
Socialism is the belief that children should not have to go to sleep hungry at night. Socialism is the belief that sweatshops are an abomination to the ethic of humaneness. Socialism is the belief that no man should worry about their family's welfare because of a boss replacing the older employees with younger ones. Socialism is the belief that everyone should get paid as much money as they deserve for their job, the belief that we should not have to crawl through each day, the belief that other people should not be the ones in control of our lives. Between the crevices of the individual personality, Socialism arises as naturally as a desire to be affectionate. It arises in ourselves, like any characteristic, this one being dedicated to fairness. Socialism is the belief that cruelty is a vice and kindness is a virtue. This is Socialism.
Specifically, Socialism is the control of the economy to reasonable standards. Laws and regulations which control the sale and purchase of any item or service is a form of Socialism. It has been stated by numerous philosophers that Capitalism, lawlessness in economy, will produce the best effects in the economical standard. Ayn Rand is known to have called selfishness a virtue. Capitalism can be defined as a complete lack of regulation in the economy. That employers have no obligation to pay their workers. Capitalism can be defined as a restrictionless economy. The alternative to Socialism and Capitalism is Communism. In a Communist economy, all of the property is owned by all of the people. Every economical transaction in a Communist government is regulated, as opposed to a Capitalist government, where no economical transaction is regulated.Justification -- Why Socialism?
With the Industrial Revolution, the way of life for the average man changed forever. No longer were things hand-made in shops -- the process of production was entirely different. Instead of the old way of doing things, the machine increased productions hundreds of times. With factories and quick production, the average man was forced into a horrible plight. Those who still ran shops and built things hand-made quickly went bankrupt. Factories could sell more of their products for a cheaper price. The worker thus was forced into working, the only alternative being starvation and the death of his family. Thus, the worker became dependent upon his wage. It was the equivalent of food for him. With no other source of income, the worker was forced into the position where he was: unappreciated and overworked. There have been those who have said that this Industrial Revolution was the beginning of Capitalist exploitation. It is true that these early factories forced men, women, and children to work in horrible, unbearable conditions. The machinery in the mills was dangerous, resulting in the death and maiming of many of the workers. For the children, there was an overseer with a whip to make sure they worked every hour there. On top of these inhumane conditions, the workers were paid pennies an hour. These were the inhumane and cruel conditions created by the employer for the worker. The employers could get away with it, too, because the workers could only go to another factory with conditions which were matched. Thus the worker was forced into a hole that he could not get out of: every job opportunity offered the same indignifying conditions, dirt-cheap wages, as well as ludicrous hours. Some had to work 16 hours a day. Capitalism has caused a horrendous amount of destruction around the world and the Industrial Revolution only lit the fire underneath it.However, as I said, many believe that the exploitation of Capitalism began with the Industrial Revolution. Some would disagree with this point, claiming that Capitalism did not exploit. The exploitation of Capitalism, even in the 20th century, was widespread and brutal in all its forms. Bosses and businessmen were vindictive in their pursuits of wealth. The rights of the workers meant nothing to them. They broke up unions, silenced dissent of opinion, made workers dependent upon their jobs, destroyed hope, made peace unattainable, fostered violence, nurtured hate. For them, nothing was too brutal, and every method that could improve profit was embraced. With this great ethic of competition, all consideration for the workers was stripped and given to profit. Greed, the so-called "virtue of selfishness," spawned so many, terrible cruelties. All for the sake of wealth, these businessmen committed the deeds which would turn the stomachs of every humane-minded person. As Capitalism had it, there were no restrictions and there were no limitations. These men, these Capitalists, held no value for the rights of their workers. Monopolies slowly formed and the rights of workers shrinked. Conditions worsened for the worker as the most tyrannical of the heartless businessmen survived. Life for these workers was a struggle. They crawled through every day and did not know what know what affection was. Work hardened their hearts and weakened their spirit. Their life was condemned to the exhausting and excruciating toil which consumed their days.
|
Tags
You must be logged in to add tags.
|
Writer Profile
Andy Carloff
Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has traveled all across the United States and has experienced American life in the urban centers, as a homeless squatter and as a blue-collar, working-class laborer. Since high school and early development, he has composed a variety of ideas on education, politics, and economy. His positions are ultra-leftist: politically an Anarchist, economically a Socialist, and culturally a Syndicalist. His writings are available through his website: http://www.punkerslut.com
|
Comments
socialism ian rae | Sep 15th, 2013
I understand your sentiments but to simply exchange private capitalism for state capitalism gets us nowhere democracy is simply the administration of things there is no need of money or exchange mechanisms within socialism just production for use.regards ian
You must be a TakingITGlobal member to post a comment. Sign up for free or login.
|
|
