Saturday, December 30, 2006

The certainty of 2007

Well, we're heading into 2007. Seven years into the new millennium. What has been achieved in the past year? Well let's see.

Hundreds of millions are still starving in a world that could feed us all.

Millions are dying of preventable diseases, in a world that has medicines and the know-how to treat their illnesses

Hundreds off millions of people, whose skills and labour could be benefit society, are idle because it is not profitable to employ them.

Wars rage in 30 countries, with more and bigger wars prophesised for the future – over oil and water and other dimishing resources.

Hundreds of billons of dollars are being spent on ever more ingenious methods of taking life and thousands of the best scientific minds are involved in this "business".

In a world of potential abundance, in a world in which we have the means to provide every human on the planet with a comfortable standard of living, the above takes place. How sad and obscene. How hollow the word "civilisation" sounds in Capitalism.

Homelessness, poverty, unnecessary deaths, war, stress, want, fear and insecurity. All this we can safely predict for 2007. This is a certainty in 2007. For this, regardless of what the apologists for capitalism would have you believe, is the legacy of Capitalism in the 21st century.

The real challenge of the 21st century, however, stil stands before us - to create a society where the happiness and good of one is the condition of the happiness and good of all.

We have the resources, both human and material, to achieve this. What we do not have is the will or understanding.

As a well known thinker once said, the philosophers have merely interpreted the world; the real task is to change it. And may it speed the day.

Comradely good wishes to all our members and sympathisers for 2007.

SC

1 comment:

finding part-timers who pretend they're socialists, but would rather sit around talking and playing power games said...

well said. I hate it when ppl say we're not well off because of all the immigrants,, or cos we give money to other countries etc.
there is no scarcity in the world now. like you said we have the wherewithal to let everyone in the world live comfortably.
i agree the only thing stopping us is lack of awareness.
our main job as socialists in these times is to help ppl see the world for what it is, and realise their position in the class war, and that united we have the power to fight and win.
like bill hicks said - not one person left behind.