Overthrow

(Article originally published in issue 3 of Intransigence; arguments stolen from Gegenstandpunkt) So long as the working class allows its dependence on money, and all the horrible results that flow from that, to be understood as the basis of life, the explanations and criticisms we communists make will never be well-received. Before 1989, if any person criticized capitalism, the usual refrain was, “Well, if you hate it so much, why don’t you go to Russia or Cuba and see how it goes?” This was apparently such a zinger it got used well after the Soviet Union had dissolved. I vividly remember back in 2006 arguing with a civics teacher in high school. At one point she became rather irritated by my persistent criticisms of capitalism, and told me to fuck off to the USSR. “You should probably know the Soviet Union hasn’t been around for a few years now,” I responded, after which she me told to shut my mouth or risk getting kicked out of class. Today, the refrain is, “well, what’s y...

On my way home from work, I was listening to NPR. The Christmas season always brings a charity boom. NPR tells its listeners that they have a chance to "help", to do something heart-warming. If the listener makes a donation, then NPR will donate to a regional food bank. One can apparently make a double whammy: with a small donation, you can fulfill your civic duty and help those in need. Donate a small amount, and the hungry will be given a few meals. NPR reports on and presents the various cases of misery as mere "bad luck" stories. It's not only the hardworking who are forced to make choices between medicine or a car payment and putting food on the table who suffer from poverty, but also children and the elderly. NPR reports all kinds of cases of misery. The bills came in and one had no money. A son gets addicted to drugs and it takes everything from the family. On and on. Two things are striking: on the one hand, the way poverty is treated as if it...