Capitalism Greed and the thugs on the street.



Communism didn't work so we are told and people rattle off the stats on Stalin and how he killed more people than the nazi's etc, it is a rather dubious argument because one could say that capitalism has killed more people than Stalin did, just look at the stats with all the wars fought over money and land,how many people living under the capitalist system have died due to extreme poverty and the diseases associated with it, if one was to carry this thesis to its logical conclusion would it be in order to say that God is responsible for all deaths?


The people who love to say that communism didn't work sigh and express their heart felt relief that at least we have capitalism, thank God, as it gives a few of us a real chance at becoming rich, and if we are not lucky enough to be among the precious few we can always buy a lotto ticket and dream. Indeed communism went against the very notion of individualism, and its effort to dilute human greed ended in complete failure as it is akin to asking humans to become something different from what we really are.


Many view the liberation of the former Eastern countries as some sort of miraculous conversion, this took place on a mass scale where over night peoples ideology got thrown out the window and they suddenly became sainted with the capitalist doctrine, and from now on everything will be alright. There were of course serious breaches of human rights in the former soviet empire the restrictions on travel, and free speech and many cases of torture and false imprisonment, made this empire corrupt and unsupportable. Yet the idea of collective responsibility is the very essence of our continued existence on this planet, it is so important that the state remains responsible to all its citizens and in particular the disadvantaged the sick and the disabled. The empire of capitalism under which we live through its media have sent out a clear message to us that we don't have this collective responsibility and we need not care for our fellow citizens.

The most fashionable pub talk lately is the anti social welfare rant that people are living off the dole sponging on their hard working neighbours, they live it up whilst honest Joe is struggling with his mortgage. In truth there are people sponging off the system but the vast majority of social welfare recipients are in dire poverty and cannot live on the money paid by welfare.Another point is that many young couples who are struggling with their mortgages were mis-sold the product in the first place, leaving them in a financial mess, this has huge implications for them in every sphere of their lives, as society brow beats them into home ownership that for many was always outside of their earning power.


People talk as they watch the rioting in London they wonder why the army are not called out to deal with the rioters, who are in the main youths with hoodies the so called uniform of thugs world wide. One person wants to know why don't they shoot them with plastic bullets, he is reminded that this is London not Belfast, and these thugs are English not Irish, one can't help but feel that the people in Belfast are watching it all with a wry smile. The news then shows us live rioting with an audience of disinterested locals watching as riot police chase a handful of miscreants across a green.


So you wonder why are these riots happening, are all the rioters thugs and criminals, when you see them looting shops and stealing from the injured you could hardly think of any other worthwhile explanation. So these thugs just mushroomed in different areas of London, and then in Birmingham etc. Surely the initial protesters had some genuine grievance can all of these rioters be thugs? Assuming that the majority are, why then is this happening in a democratic state with an advanced welfare system a country who are currently saving us all from the terrors of Islam in Afghanistan. In Britain they have a massive underclass that is growing in numbers every day. This underclass is fed by the down beat culture of capitalism, these could have been the next recruits for the army, many of these boys could have ended up serving overseas. Most of these youths are currently unemployed, and many are unemployable, as their standard of education is so low, they are drilled by the media, courted to buy the designer uniforms they wear, they eat fast food and drink takeaway tins of lager, many of them are habitual drug users.


The English state has the answer police them properly lock them up, and if they break the law they will be punished repeatedly, this is the capitalist answer, it does not serve capitalism to remove the root causes of disaffection as it is costly and the money is far better invested in weaponry and the investors wouldn't like millions being poured into a non profitable enterprise. This is of course a totally false calculation as any money spent redressing this awful inequitable scenario would save billions to the state in the long term.


One asks where is the political will, and you may also ask as to why ordinary people allow such disruption and inequality in society, the answer is close at hand in association with a bland and corrupting media, supported by our very own greed.