How often do we hear it said: "It's only human nature?" And mostly about some gross piece of behaviour as if it couldn't be avoided? Curiously, it is not often said about the best things that people can do.
The current cold weather and accompanying snow storms and generally unpleasant and extreme conditions in Britain maybe just gave us a glimpse of how socialist society will work.
The images of people handing out food and drinks to strangers who were stranded in the snow surely put paid to the myth that human nature wouldn’t accept socialism. Human nature as some fixed pattern of behaviour doesn’t exist; human behaviour does. Human behaviour can be and is conditioned.
In spite of all the divisions that capitalist society puts between us -- colour of skin, status, salary/wage, nationality -- we remain very cooperative beings. Even the army brain-washed to killing “the enemy” (with whom they have farm more in common that than their paymasters) managed for once to help people rather than kill and destroy.
People who own 4 x 4 voluntarily driving nurses and doctors out to see patients who couldn’t make it to hospital. People sharing the remains of their lunch boxes with strangers. People who walked many a mile through the snow to put in their shift. Think of this and magnify it and you have how socialism will work.
Of course in socialist society, there will be droughts and extreme weather but no one will die for lack of heating or food or water. It is a difficult task but not an insurmountable one to ensure that everyone on the planet has access to food, water, clothing, medications, and shelter but the past few days have shown that the workers are up to it. They didn’t have to wait for leaders, the simply saw their fellow men in need and helped them. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
JFB
The current cold weather and accompanying snow storms and generally unpleasant and extreme conditions in Britain maybe just gave us a glimpse of how socialist society will work.
The images of people handing out food and drinks to strangers who were stranded in the snow surely put paid to the myth that human nature wouldn’t accept socialism. Human nature as some fixed pattern of behaviour doesn’t exist; human behaviour does. Human behaviour can be and is conditioned.
In spite of all the divisions that capitalist society puts between us -- colour of skin, status, salary/wage, nationality -- we remain very cooperative beings. Even the army brain-washed to killing “the enemy” (with whom they have farm more in common that than their paymasters) managed for once to help people rather than kill and destroy.
People who own 4 x 4 voluntarily driving nurses and doctors out to see patients who couldn’t make it to hospital. People sharing the remains of their lunch boxes with strangers. People who walked many a mile through the snow to put in their shift. Think of this and magnify it and you have how socialism will work.
Of course in socialist society, there will be droughts and extreme weather but no one will die for lack of heating or food or water. It is a difficult task but not an insurmountable one to ensure that everyone on the planet has access to food, water, clothing, medications, and shelter but the past few days have shown that the workers are up to it. They didn’t have to wait for leaders, the simply saw their fellow men in need and helped them. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
JFB
No comments:
Post a Comment