There are some commentaries on socialism and communism floating around today and in spite of the fine discussions already held they are still beside the point. Consumerism isn't inherently bad. It becomes destructive when the makers of the products cannot afford to own what they make. Guaranteeing everyone is healthy enough to work and paying a living wage makes for cooperation and teamwork but the other element, demand, creates an ugly relationship between the producers and the quality of their work. It's no coincidence that the so-called 'shit work' is usually about moving stuff we don't need or things we know to be harmful and it is probably why people who are cornered into doing those jobs self destruct. I wonder how often they opt for those jobs because they think there is no other place for them, or that they don't deserve the ones they want.
What is missing from the system that I believe could unmake a lot of humanity's negative effects on society and the environment is depicted in fiction works like the Hunger Games. Every region has a specialty. Every person has ability and talent in some form or another. The part they usually leave out is that we can't run out of money because we made it up. Human need is manufactured to punish those who don't conform to the demands of the 'leadership', who insist on cloning themselves in their workers. Henry Ford's efforts are a fine example of this with his setting wages and pricing cars so employees could afford them while stripping his workers of their cultures. With that act he screwed them by underhandedly telling them culture is less important than productivity when in reality it is the other way around. He thought he had to clone himself in order to create cooperation and that's backwards. The results of his cultural whitewashing are still kicking our collective ass as the baseline of corporate culture and it needs to be approached differently and with less fear of the dreaded S-word if we want to be both productive and healthy.
Poverty and unemployment are a waste of human resources. People want to say they have done something well. Accusing the poor of wanting to be dependent on the state for food and shelter is as asinine as assuming healthy people wake up one morning deciding to smoke crack, and to assert these opinions is to tell them they aren't worth protecting. Isolating them removes access to care. When people self harm the consequences rest on the accuser for revoking the other's right to care about themselves. HeadStart should be a central part of ending this tradition (I also say make HeadStart open to anyone who wants to send their kids there. Maybe a sliding scale?), and it should be offered everywhere. If any bussing should remain it should happen to kids in Head Start. It offers them a chance to experience other cultures in a place where they are welcomed as normal, ultimately teaching them how to celebrate differences rather than fear them. Children in families who can afford day care already get this. Poor kids usually don't.
This could be easily
combined with another wonderful way to introduce the non-threat real
socialism (that radical mentality where all people have feelings) and
meritocracy: food. Encouraging HeadStart organizers to embrace our
traditional comfort foods would speak to the folks who have hidden
their roots, afraid of being stigmatized for knowing where they come
from. That fear is a symptom of tyranny, not leadership, and we
already know better. Mass produced rations offer invisibility and safety
in an unfamiliar and potentially hostile environment (marketed as safe because same) but also requires some compromise of personal
health, so knowing how to find quality within the quantity is vitally important,
and emphasizing food quality in a multicultural preschool format is a fine place to start. They learn how to care for something real and rewarding, and that reinforces their worth as individuals. Locally grown food carries little risk and offers people a place to be completely selfish. It offers an outlet for people in a system that has for too long treated its workers like things to be upgraded and used. It's one thing in this overly regulated world that offers a sense of accomplishment and the benefits far outweigh the costs. It's inherently Communist, it's certainly Socialist, and it is downright Founding Fatherly. Diversity is wealth and homegrown keeps it real. Tell the kids.
