Today, many people are talking about socialism. This discussion is happening now because many of us are coming to the conclusion that the capitalist system is dying. More people than ever are open to discussing new ways of organizing society.
Underlying this changed thinking is that today robots are rapidly replacing human labor in every facet of the economy. On the one hand, these new tools are creating an untold abundance of necessities such as food, healthcare, housing and energy, as well as limitless possibilities for the advancement of humanity. On the other hand, under capitalism, the means of producing what we need to live is owned by the giant corporations and run in their interests for profit. This means if you don’t have a job or money you are on your own, facing hunger, homelessness and even death. Socialism, a practical alternative to this cruel way of organizing an economy, is possible and necessary today.
What exactly is socialism? Contrary to what we are told, socialism is not about simply adding more social programs, nor is it a fascist dictatorship. The Merriam-Webster dictionary makes clear that socialism is an economic system, and a stepping-stone to a communist society. It states:
1 : [Socialism is] . . . collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
2 : [Socialism is] a stage of society . . . [which is] transitional between capitalism and communism.
Socialism sets the stage for the creation of a communist society based on the principle that everyone contributes their talents and skills and everyone gets the necessities of life based on their need, not money. Government would merely organize the distribution of society’s abundance to all who need it. This is the practical solution to the inability of people to get the things they need to survive and thrive under the current system. It is the door to new thresholds in the struggle for a new humanity where everyone can live happy, fulfilled lives.
The ideals of socialism and communism have been around for centuries, but the productive capacity to fully create such a society did not exist until now. With robotics, the elimination of human labor coupled with the ability to produce such abundance makes a communist society not only realizable, but also necessary.
What is the first step toward a communist society? The political question comes down to how do the people gain control over the corporations when, today, the government has been taken over by these corporations. The people need to fight for a government that takes over the corporations and makes corporate property public property. We are at that fork in the road. The future is up to us.
Bernie Sanders’ use of the term ‘democratic socialism’, and talking about a political revolution further confuses things. Maybe some clarification of this would be helpful. By discussing these things, he does get the conversation going in a broader arena than might happen otherwise.