Living in a
prosperous part of South England I occasionally encounter people who
claim to be happy with their lives. They seem not to be suffering
alienation in their work and are content with the standard of living
it provides. What is a socialist to make of such an individual and is
our call to revolution impotent in the face of such contentment?
Certainly the traditional Marxist case depends on developing and
politicising the pre-existing frustration and unhappiness that
usually accompanies wage slavery. What does socialism have to offer
such people?
Although
initially taken-aback by the self-centeredness and political myopia
of such individuals socialists can still offer them personal and
political liberation by pointing to the perspectives of ‘time and
place’. In terms of time we will refer to the struggles of the past
that have enabled them to enjoy the relative material and political
freedoms they have and point out that these can be eroded and/or
destroyed by the instability of capitalism at any moment. The
economic crashes that define capitalism can destroy jobs and savings
just as its wars can murder its children. Anyone who is content to
leave the future of their children in the hands of politicians whose
only loyalty is to those with wealth and power is surely guilty of
both extreme naivety and neglect. And if they are fortunate enough to
personally escape these wider inevitabilities then even the most
optimistic among us would be in complete denial not to be concerned
about the dangers of pollution and global warming that will be their
inheritance.
As I
grow older I become aware of just how fragile our individual world
is. Even the most successful and healthy individual can succumb to
accident or illness at any time. Although socialism could not prevent
such vicissitudes of existence it will end the added stress that
accompanies loss of earnings in capitalism. Falling into poverty
because of illness or bereavement is a common enough phenomenon in
our present society. Living in a culture of such great inequality of
wealth and opportunity creates crime. The relatively affluent among
us are very fortunate if they do not fall victim to crime at some
time. As Gil Scott Heron memorably said about injustice in his song
Angola
Louisiana:
‘It can walk into your living room as long as it surrounds your
home’. They might equip themselves with state-of-the-art security
but all this does is foster the feeling of being ‘under siege’
and further alienates the individual from the wider community.
In terms
of the ‘place’ element of our subversion of any feelings of smug
contentment and complacency we need only point to the ease with which
such a person can get on a plane and within hours be in the company
of parents who have to watch their children die for the want of clean
water. This is not some unrelated and alien ‘third world’ but a
world that our actions and/or inaction have created. The components
of the electronics (for instance) that a ‘first world’ consumer
enjoys may well depend on the low wages of a sweat shop on the other
side of the world. Because
capital always flows to the area of production with the highest rate
of exploitation this quite often means, in the underdeveloped world,
very low wages and so contributes greatly to maintaining regional
poverty.
And you
don’t have to travel far to be ‘in the wrong place at the wrong
time’ since the very act of travelling can kill or maim you. A
staggering 1.3 million fatalities occur on the roads every year as
part of the overall 50 million injuries per annum. In this country
alone there is an average of 2,000 fatalities per year among the
200,000 injuries. Given the speed and power of contemporary vehicles
together with the desperation to meet delivery deadlines combined
with long and monotonous hours involved in commercial traffic, this
is hardly surprising. Every time you start your car you take your
life into your hands.
There is an endless list of potential everyday hazards created by capitalism that can put you ‘in the eye of the perfect storm’ including: food adulteration, dangerous working conditions, tired doctors and nurses, faulty domestic appliances, etc., etc. I thought, at one time, that I had finally come across a purely ‘natural disaster’ when I heard about the terrible tsunami in Sri Lanka some years ago; only to discover that the local council had turned off the early warning system because of ‘financial considerations’!
There is an endless list of potential everyday hazards created by capitalism that can put you ‘in the eye of the perfect storm’ including: food adulteration, dangerous working conditions, tired doctors and nurses, faulty domestic appliances, etc., etc. I thought, at one time, that I had finally come across a purely ‘natural disaster’ when I heard about the terrible tsunami in Sri Lanka some years ago; only to discover that the local council had turned off the early warning system because of ‘financial considerations’!
Life is
fragile enough without the additional threats inherent within
capitalism. We are so interdependent that we are all, by default,
‘our brother’s keeper’. The ultimate perspective was first
provided by the Apollo 8 spacecraft back in 1968 when it emerged from
behind the moon to see our planet some 240,000 miles distant. If life
is fragile then just how much more is its host; a tiny blue jewel
hanging in the midst of nothingness. It is the shared inheritance of
us all and no parasitic minority should be allowed to destroy it. At
the moment the majority of our species inhabit this world like ghosts
haunting it instead of truly living as a part of it. We urgently need
to realise this and resurrect ourselves as politically conscious and
interactive members of the human family so that we may protect each
other and our planet – that is our challenge to those who profess
to be content with their lives.
WEZ
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