Members of the Democratic Socialist of America, to date, have won over 30 primaries during the current primary season. Having spent most of my adult life studying and thinking about the merits of capitalism vs. socialism, it seems appropriate to re-enter the debate at this time.
I should probably preface all of this by stating that while I’ve read a good deal of Marxist literature, and respect the body of thought, which is simply a scientific approach to historical development, and which is badly misrepresented by the western ruling elite, my own socialist beliefs are inspired by New Testament scripture, associated with my Christian upbringing– both Roman Catholic and Fundamentalist Protestant.
Prior to beginning this anti-war Page, I administered a Page entitled “Spiritual and Practical Socialism (SPS)”. The idea behind that Page was that without a spiritual transformation, a true socialist society is not possible. In other words, one cannot take capitalist spirit into a socialist setting and expect different results. Spiritual transformation is requisite to real transformation.
With global war approaching, the anti-war effort seemed to merit a priority effort. With this in mind, I abandoned, probably mistakenly, the Spiritual and Practical Socialism Page. More recently, the effort on this Page has moved more towards art–away from words, in the expression of the anti-war theme. Words are confrontational. It was not clear to me that the confrontational nature of words were consistent with the “peace thru peace” theme promoted on this Page.
The themes of war and capitalism, however, cannot be separated. They are intimately connected. The values, the spirit, and current accounting practices which measure only individual firm’s profits and losses, without regard to the broader communal welfare associated with capitalism, inevitably leads towards war. While I’ve published several anti-capitalist essays on this Page, I’ve not yet published much on the topic of socialism. This is about to change–through the use of words, to an extent that is not yet clear in my own mind.
It would be irresponsible not to share the insights gained through a near lifetime of thought and study on this topic, which include undergraduate studies in Finance and Economics, and a subsequent Law degree. I never practiced in any of these areas hoping to keep my mind free of institutional biases, opting instead for self-employment in a skilled trade, which enabled freedom of thought and study.
There are a significant number of conservative followers of this Page who might object to the addition of this content. One of the strangest transformations of my lifetime has been the movement of anti-war sentiment from the left to the right. While there is much anti-war sentiment on both sides of the political divide, anti-war sentiment seems currently to be more powerful on the right rather than the left. To those on the right who will oppose the inclusion of socialist thought on this Page, my hope is that you will stick-around so that we can engage in civil debate on this topic, a debate consistent with the “peace thru peace” theme on this Page. There is no intent, here, to add to the anger which currently permeates the world. Hateful and angry comments will not be tolerated. Most of us are trying to do our best.
To launch this effort, I’ve included the following, very brief essay, previously written, but not before published, which begins with a quote from Rosa Luxemburg:
“Socialism in life demands a complete spiritual transformation in the masses degraded by centuries of bourgeois rule. Social instincts in place of egotistical ones, mass initiative in place of inertia, idealism which conquers all suffering, etc., etc.
-Rosa Luxemburg, “The Russian Revolution”, 1918.
Rosa Luxemburg was a Polish Marxist economist. The above Luxemburg quote appeared after the 1917 Russian Revolution which saw the overthrow of the highly oppressive Tsarist rule in Russia, and the subsequent takeover by the Bolsheviks in the Russian nation.
Luxemburg, like many socialists, was highly critical of the subsequent non-democratic, authoritarian path of the Russian Revolution. This path, initiated by Lenin, intended to be temporary, but upon his death developed by Stalin into a long term effort, resulted in the purge of roughly a million socialist, hundreds of thousands of which were executed. These were socialist who firmly believed that socialism must be democratic, otherwise it is not socialism. It is simply another form of class rule, wherein capital still dominates labor, only now via the state, rather than the private sector.
Stated differently, whether capital is controlled by the state or the private sector matters little. When capital dominates labor, state or privately owned, the system is capitalism. When labor dominates capital, then the system may appropriately be labeled socialism. The latter requires more democracy, not less.
Rosa Luxemburg was assassinated by the Freikorps, a German right wing paramilitary group, during the 1919 Spartacist uprising.
The opening Luxemburg quote is worth repeating:
“Socialism in life demands a complete spiritual transformation in the masses degraded by centuries of bourgeois rule. Social instincts in place of egotistical ones, mass initiative in place of inertia, idealism which conquers all suffering, etc., etc.” -Rosa Luxemburg
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