Concepts of Socialism
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.
In this great republic, when the workers were forced into
unbearable toil without any consideration given to them, what
did the politicians and leaders do? In a republic, the
population elects the rulers. What did the rulers do once in
office? The mistrusted government officials shook the hand of
hypocrisy and brought corruption to an entirely new level.
Corporations bought out representatives and senators. It was no
longer a nation for the people and by the people. It was a
nation for the rich and built on the sweat, blood, and tears of
the people. The Capitalist economy became a haven for legalized
slavers. The corporate interest was held over the public
interest; this can be simplied as saying that more effort was
put into being selfish than inhumane. Ayn Rand, the Capitalist
philosopher, called selfishness a virtue. When we compete, she
argued, then prices are lower and conditions improve. The
leaders and rulers of the nation ascribe to this "virtue of
selfishness" -- they imposed a rule that gave no consideration
to the workers, they allowed their people to die in their
factories, they betrayed the public interest, made ignoramuses
of themselves, enforced brutality -- the politicians which
abused and manipulated public interest only so that they could
enrich themselves, cruel and unfeeling in their endeavors --
they were Capitalists, not Socialists. Heartlessness and
brutality: these were the vices embraced by the government
officials and businessmen who were concerned more with the
amount of dollars they have than the amount of suffering
inflicted on the common man.
The Capitalists are fond of Social Darwinism. They will be
quick to side with the Evolutionary Theory of Natural Selection.
The strongest, quickest, and smartest will outlive others --
this is their prediction. They will even point to the wild and
how animals are themselves competetive with each other and
striving to survive. However, even Charles Darwin noted numerous
times that animals have a kind of sympathy for each other. To
quote Charles Darwin...
"Many animals, however, certainly sympathise with each other's
distress or danger. This is the case even with birds. Captain
Stansbury found on a salt lake in Utah an old and completely
blind pelican, which was very fat, and must have been well fed
for a long time by his companions. Mr. Blyth, as he informs me,
saw Indian crows feeding two or three of their companions which
were blind; and I have heard of an analogous case with the
domestic cock. We may, if we choose, call these actions
instinctive; but such cases are much too rare for the
development of any special instinct. I have myself seen a dog,
who never passed a cat who lay sick in a basket, and was a great
friend of his, without giving her a few licks with his tongue,
the surest sign of kind feeling in a dog." [The Descent of Man,
by Charles Darwin, chapter 4, part I.]
As seen within nature, even animals have a tendency to show
compassion for each other. When an animal sees another animal
suffering, there is a chance that it will offer its sympathies
and aid that animal. This has been noted by many biologists and
confirmed by many eye-witness accounts. However, when a
Capitalist sees another suffering, he looks for a way to profit
from it, and then claims that he is no worse than any animal.
One of the largest vices of Capitalism is the eventual
formation of monopolies. When a monopoly is in control of a
certain product universally, either through legal or economical
means, it not only abuses the worker but it abuses the consumer,
as well. If a car company, for example, owns the steel mills to
make its cars and owns the rubber plantations to make its tires,
then the competitors are driven into the ground. The golden rule
of Capitalism is that competition between companies creates
better products at less costly prices. The competitors, however,
know that they will profit more and they will progress better
when there is no competition. With control of the resources to
produce a certain product, such as a car, there can be no
competition. A competitor in need of steel to make cars, and
rubber to make tires, would not be sold such items from their
competitor. In this scenario, only one business gains control of
an industry and no matter what price he sets, there is no one to
compete with him. A car industry may sell their car for $10,000
to $100,000, whether or not it only cost them less than one
thousand. After all, when this car business is the only one
operating, there will be no place else to obtain a car. In fact,
not only can the price be unreasonable, but the condition of the
car can also be unreasonable -- it may have a badly running
engine or other failing functions. This possibility of a
monopoly by businesses in industries has been practised by many
entrepreneurs.
Communism falls prey to the same flaws of Capitalism. In a
Capitalist system, the privilege to guide and control society,
to mold the workers into machines themselves, is given to the
businessmen. The employers hold no regard for the workers and
slowly, the classes quickly seperate: the rich becoming richer
and smaller; the poor becoming poorer and numerous. On the
shoulders and backs of the workers, the politicians and the
corporate leaders made themselves rich to unimaginable degrees.
A Communist system, however, gives complete control and
responsibility to the worker, making everyone equal. In a
Communist economy, whether or not you work hard at your job or
excessively, trying to accomplish the most for yourself and your
society, you will earn the same meager wage. The corruption of
both the Communist and Capitalist states is appalling, both
falling victim to corrupt leaders; still, though, corruption is
much more prevalent within Capitalist systems. The difference
between a Communist and a Socialist state should not be
difficult to see: in a Socialist economy, workers are paid the
amount that they deserve for their work. Under Communism, the
pay is horrendously low because the doctors receive as much pay
as the janitors. Under Capitalism, the pay is horrendously low
because the corporate leaders have no interest in paying workers
anything more than a slave wage. Under Socialism, the pay is
adequate, fair, and deserving.
It is obvious that within a Capitalist economy, the rights of
the workers are given no weight. To what justification do the
workers have when it comes to guiding their own lives for
themselves? It is the fact that the worker has built the
foundation of every industry and that the worker is the backbone
of every strong economy. It is the worker who created the
products that make our lives easier, the worker who understands
his creation, the worker who builds the things that society
uses. Since it is the worker who makes the system produce what
it produces, it is the worker who has the right to decide what
system that is. Given the current stature of Capitalism, only a
heartless tyrant or an unthinking fool would choose it over
Socialism. As workers, those of us who foster production, create
society, and make the things that make lives easier, we deserve
the right to construct society according to our wishes. In this
manner, it is obvious that we side with Socialism: the belief
that every individual is deserving of the opportunity to better
themselves in a fair economy, the belief that every individual
has the right to safe working conditions and reasonable working
hours, the belief that humaneness is our ultimate goal.
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