Comrades, I may just be a subpar poet/writer/articlist/essayist/failed novelist, but I believe that it doesn't take a social scientist or psychologist to figure out that something is horribly, fatally wrong with the moral fiber United States and the West in general.
As I have previously indicated, I have a legion of problems with the inherent moral, ethical, and practical problems with Capitalism. I am, in fact, an ardent Communist. The sad part of this is that history has demonstrated Communism to be a system inherently corruptible by the designs and appetites of powerful men - Iosef Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev, for example, and even rebels who begin their crusades with the best of intentions: Mao Tsetung, Kim Il Sung and Fidel Castro.
However, history has shown bourgeoisie Capitalism to be even more horrendously flawed - not for its ability to kill innocent people (an ability that is admittedly surpassed by deformed workers states such as North Korea and the post-Lenin Soviet Union). Capitalism's sins are infinitely worse. First, it provides an environment where greed is not only rewarded, but it is encouraged. Second, it creates an atmosphere wherein intellect is crushed to make way for profitability in the popular culture. Finally, Capitalism competes so very well that Communism, a system of infinitely greater moral fortitude, cannot help but adapt lest it be subsumed.
In a Capitalist society, a man is rewarded not by his intelligence, his talents or even necessarily his moral integrity. Indeed, these character assets may be detrimental to one's success in a Capitalist society. Unless one's intelligence is in the manipulation of people and money, it can only hinder his acquisition of more and more meaningless wealth. A man's talent, unless used towards the manipulation of one's fellows, can only lead him to be exploited by those in managerial positions. See how artists and musicians are sought out by "agents" and recording industry cabals in order to hawk their wares and how, without such things, it is hard to establish one's reputation. In true Communism, the arts are promoted by the Workers' State and distributed to the masses. Music, art and literature of true intellectual integrity are promoted above banal trash.
But, I get ahead of myself. My first point is that in Capitalism, you are either the worker or the exploited. If you possess the clarity to make this distinction, then chances are strong that you'll eventually become an exploiter of the labor of the masses. The masses which are increasingly finding themselves replaced by cheap overseas labor, in perhaps the most sickening revival of colonialism imaginable. You can see how all manufacturing is done in nations which are intentionally kept poor and stupid by the West. At the very least, the British and French intended to gradually raise Africa, India, and Southeast Asia up to be developed, modern regions. The foreign policy of the United States and her allies dictates that these areas shall remain thoroughly grounded in the 19th century with regards to development in order to provide fertile grounds to which we may outsource our labor and cheapen it to near slavery wages.
On, now, to my second point. That is, that intellect is more or less discouraged in a Capitalist society. Even after Stalin had wrested control of the Soviet Union from the Trotskyists - the true heirs to Lenin's legacy - a man could expect to make a career in academia. Though the field was far from profitable, this mattered little. So long as one's subject matter was not seen as subversive to the State or the Stalinist corrupted 'dictatorship of the proletariat' - thereby personified as "Comrade" Stalin, a person might study in whatever field their heart desired and could expect a living wage for all their days, for a Communist believes that the right to work to earn one's living is a right that can never be revoked.
This is not so in Capitalism, however. If your intellect does not serve greater profitability, then may your intellect be damned! If you study any sort of specific demographic, or a historical field, or any of a number of esoteric fields, then you have very little expectation of finding work. A capitalist will tell you that this does not prohibit you from learning those fields, but as usual the capitalist is mistaken. In Capitalist nations, education costs money and, in the Corporatist United States, if you cannot foot the bill then you are shit out of luck. They'll tell you that there are loans, sure, but given the ludicrous prospect of actually paying them off, you cannot realistically expect to study anything that doesn't pay off. This leads to people failing to have the ability to follow their dreams and even the intelligent are forced to find something profitable and soulless in order to make a living. This contributes to the general hopelessness and depression that is the hallmark of the developed world. Not to worry, though. Someone will sell you a pill to clear that right up.
Now, this is all quite depressing and makes one wish that somewhere along the way the world had never went so wrong. Maybe Lenin never had his strokes, or Trotsky managed to sic the Bolsheviks on Stalin before it was too late and the global Communist revolution had never been reigned in and, perhaps permanently, killed off. The fact is, though, that ultimately Communism cannot compete so long as a single Capitalist system is left in operation. Where there are bourgeoisie, there are exploiters. Where there are Workers attempting to live in peace, profit seekers will arise to oppress them.
A Marxist believes passionately in the right to work, the right for a worker to have rest and leisure, the right to healthcare, the right to be cared for in old age and infirmity, and the right to be educated. However, how can a state which gives these rights to people ever dream of competing with a system enriched by the sale of these rights to their proletariat? Indeed, the Capitalist would probably sell you air if he could. They already sell water - even as millions of our fellow human beings die of thirst and dehydration every year. Oh, but that doesn't matter. They don't live here. They aren't rich. Why on Earth should the Capitalist care when he cannot turn a profit?
The fact is that we're down to five states which claim to be Communist. Let's take a tally of them, shall we?
The People's Republic of China: Despite my respect for the People's Republic of China, their liberation of Tibet, their reclamation of Hong Kong and Macau, and their continued struggle to reunify with the Capitalist held province of Taiwan, I am forced to admit that they're drifting closer and closer to Corporatism. The Chinese Communist Party is becoming more and more reminiscent of the Capitalist bourgeoisie with each and every deal they make with American, Japanese, Taiwanese and South Korean corporations to grow fat off of the labors of their countrymen in foreign owned sweatshops.
The Republic of Cuba: A deformed worker's state, slowly drifting towards Capitalism in the mold of the CCP.
Lao People's Democratic Republic: Yet another would-be China.
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam: And again, another would-be China. In fact, the Communist Party of Vietnam have even gone on record as saying they based their reform efforts off of Deng Xiaoping theory. How very kind of them.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea: The strangest case of all, the most deformed Communist state imaginable. Indeed, I don't even consider them to be a Communist nation even by the standards of the nations listed above. They're more akin to a creepy cult state: Scientology, the regime; if you will. If the Soviet Union had never undergone destalinization, it would have looked a lot like this. They have almost completely shuttered themselves off from the outside world, opening up only when the ruling cabal can turn a profit from Chinese, Russian and South Korean investors.
So, as you can see, the states which survived the tragic fall of Communism did so either by bending over for the bourgeoisie or by going completely insane. The fact is that Communism, for all of its moral superiority, simply cannot compete. This is my musing, and bummer though it may be, I feel as though it serves a valuable lesson. So long as the bourgeoisie remains in any form in any land, the Revolution will never - must never - end.
Thank you for your time and patience in reading this, comrades.
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