We are witness to deep inequities embedded into the current system that runs society. Capitalism here and globally is in complete opposition to true democracy and real freedom, and has long proven to be destructive to many albeit beneficial to a privileged few. We are witness to the ecological and economical greed of political leaders taking power and using it to enrich themselves instead of helping all people to live comfortably off the fruits of our labour.
Capitalist inequality
These assertions are backed up by the realities of rising poverty worldwide, as corporate owners become richer and more enabled with power to pollute and waste resources with growing impunity. Capitalism concentrates wealth, but it is workers who actively produce it. Capitalist bosses make even more profit by paying so many workers only poverty wages, while deliberately keeping others out of the economy.
We all need to be aware of the worldwide actions of casually cruel capitalism, including contract-flipping to the lowest bidder; down-sizing; paying less to women and temp workers and foreign trained workers; legalizing precarious gig-worker app jobs; union busting and hiring replacements in response to contract demands for fairness; firing without cause; unpaid internships, injured workers deemed ineligible for full salary; salary freezes; and no employer paid sick days; just to name a few.
Current society nicely allows for food banks and sets up charities for those left behind, which is never enough and too often only a token or performative gesture. So the rich are actually still the real benefactors under the capitalist tax return system. When people can’t survive on crumbs, can’t pay the skyrocketing bills with crumbs, it’s a spiral deeper into poverty. Then as unhoused people, the capitalist state will be quick to deem us unstable, unworthy, and unfit to exist here, even though it’s this society withholding support, holding up and gatekeeping the barriers that caused us to land hard on the pavement.
The colonial capitalist indoctrination of the belief in rating humans as first, second, and third class citizens is the first thing everyone should unlearn. Racism plays a huge part in this cruel consciousness deeming some humans as deserving of a fairly dignified life, and other humans as less deserving of the same. Some groups have rights to privilege, but other groups are treated as if they don’t deserve any rights at all.
There is no doubt that as activist bell hooks said, it’s ‘racist and capitalist patriarchy’ that has stripped us of basic human rights and constantly tries to chip away at our humanity. It makes me extremely sad that white supremacist ideology demonizes racialized communities, and continues to cause so much pain, death, incarceration and grief for so many.
State violence
The class system was designed to put up impossible barriers and to dehumanize human beings. This effectively excludes people and leaves so many behind. Cutting off supports; laying people off; detaining and containing people; evicting and deporting people; clearing encampments; and ‘gentrifying’ are more examples of how our city, province, and country can and does withhold support from people in crisis. Heartlessly, and straight from the handbook of the capitalist agenda.
Rules and state laws consistently intervene whenever ordinary people are deemed to be overstepping, trespassing, stealing, scamming, hoarding, cheating, and thus deserving of being criminalized and harassed with state violence. There are no such rules or laws made to stop wealthy elites from scamming, overstepping, stealing, hoarding, etc. Instead the wealthy are protected by loopholes and most of all protected by the state.
Regular workers, and unregularized workers who are specifically deemed lower class, or illegal, are some of those put at risk of being treated as expendable and disposable. ‘There is a ‘short-end of the stick’ which is expressly built into capitalism. It’s deliberately using tools of pre-judgement, and de-humanization, routine brutal incarceration, cutting funding for legal aid, and quiet dismissal of human rights complaints. Not to mention: the war on the poor; state sanctioned lynchings of BIPOC people; or the quiet genocide of Indigenous children, and all the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
Wish it were clear to all from that horrific murder video forced on us recently that Black police are often used by the state against their own communities to trick us into thinking there’s no white supremacy or racism involved in some assaults, or that it’s only Black cops who are so violent. But all ethnicities of police officers are trained to treat BIPOC as the guilty perpetrators whether or not the cops are also BIPOC. That’s why we demand de-funding of police in exchange for more humane community health intervention and support.
Who wants to abolish the ruling class? I do! ‘Abolish’ does not mean ‘exterminate’, and I don’t literally wish to ‘eat’ the rich. But who wants a system where workers can fairly share the wealth we produce? I do! It can and should be a peaceful process of fair allocation. Socialism could even allow my 6 foot young adult progeny to be free to go jogging to let off steam and practice healthy track and field skills without fearing undue police intervention like the kind that interrupted the life of Chadd Facey in Brampton. Xenophobic racism for many generations of us has been extremely frightening and life-threatening. I am motivated to organize with revolutionary socialists who are interested in ending racial bias that make us targets of police brutality.
Capitalist democracy and colonial borders
Some people say that socialists just want to take over and give workers the power to misuse and exploit the resources instead of bosses; sometimes known as turning the tables. This is definitely not the goal of socialism. But it is the game that many political parties have repeatedly played for years against other political parties. They can’t wait to get voted in so they can do exactly what they’ve been complaining that their rival party is doing. Political parties are stuck solidly within these revolving doors of an unrelenting capitalist framework where absolute power corrupts and impels them to enrich themselves.
Despite all their promises to public service and protection, the power bestowed on them becomes punitive to the general population who bestowed said power. How does capitalism cause regular people to give away our power, then watch it turn and crush us? Starts off like a peaceful pendulum, then turns into a wicked renoviction wrecking ball.
Our focus is less on reform of the capitalist system and more on abolition of state violence, abolition of the class system, and building up worker confidence to plan for socialist revolution that transforms into humane social systems.
Of course the entire phrase ‘international revolution’ implies that borders should no longer keep us divided on the journey to enact socialism. ‘No Borders’ also implies correctly that no one should be illegal. Amazingly the activist work I do in my little corner of the world, without any passport or even a car, (although I boldly cross borders at times on LinkedIn) has a correspondingly positive impact on remote corners of the world due to my small, intentional and genuinely heartfelt solidarity action! Socialism involves the will to march courageously in support and solidarity to gain the rights and freedoms that are too often granted to only a select few. Workers everywhere need to win this international revolution that will restore workers, tenants, and human rights so that there may be hope to put what’s left of the planet back into the hands of original Indigenous wisdom.
Socialism
Socialists believe capitalism is not acceptable for a fair and just society, or even for the health and safety of humans, plants, or animals on the planet. Socialists have a much more humane vision that does not have a hidden agenda to destroy people and impoverish workers at the hands of elite wealthy bosses and those politicians who would be easily distracted away from service to the constituents who voted for them. Socialists listen, learn, and connect the historic colonial truth of Canada’s origins to the truth of our current experience with problems of society.
Socialists have a vision of a much more caring and equitable society where everyone feels safe and no one is treated like a mere commodity or gets left behind. Socialists believe that it’s all of us who are deserving of dignity. But this humane ideology is feared by the elite who cannot bear to lose the money and power they gained from an unjust and unfair system of oppression. Socialist revolution is not the scary chaos warned us by Thatcher-like individuals who remain desperate to keep a status quo that favors only elites and the ruling class. Socialism is not an old or failed ideology, but it is the path on which we can organize principles of humanity and our true collective power.
We are learning that we the people are the metaphorical elephant who has been tied to a puny fence with a raggedy rope. We are voluntarily emancipating ourselves from generations of fear, apathy, mental bondage and brainwashing. We can only achieve our vision if we ourselves strive to work without any trace of the hierarchy, patriarchy, racism and sexism, nimbyism, or xenophobia. There are the deep biases all of us are forced to face and we vow to go deep to get at the root of bitter class war, starting with ourselves. Even if we always knew we were socialists we must be diligent against blindly and accidentally replicating the hierarchies we grew up in.
Despite deep emotional pain created by centuries of oppression, how do we still manage to generate joyfulness in our solidarity? We embody the resistance every time we show up, collaborate, and march with other activists and abolitionists. We throw all our sorrow, our anger, our creative brain power, our voices, and every appendage into the process of organizing against harmful policies. In direct opposition to all the harms of capitalism, we come together to organize.
Spring Socialist Network
Why join Spring Socialist Network for this? Because we believe revolutionary socialism is not only necessary to heal our current social problems, we believe it can only be achieved collectively. Our movement is not a static theory but comprises real time gains through concerted effort and well-planned action. We believe it is our duty and collective responsibility to unshackle ourselves, the vulnerable, and the planet from unchecked greed, privatization, and unsustainable exploitation of people and our natural resources. Dismantling harmful policies of capitalism is not only our goal, it is our responsibility. We grow wiser through each member we gain and with each cause we support. Individuals who join recognize what’s at stake if we allow our authorities to keep laws in place that leave people unhoused and trapped in poverty; and laws that allow continued destruction of the environment.
Dismantling and rebuilding away from the current system of capitalism is the common vision of Spring Network Socialists. This vision I share with comrades leaves me pleased. Actively organizing with other compassionate human beings with a hunger for change switches me to a more hopeful outlook. We all come together to strategize in real time about how to dismantle capitalism and the other ‘isms that have divided us and stripped us of our collective power. Spring is not a mandatory course or any type of forced training. We are collectively volunteering to actively support people including unionized and non-unionized workers, who are exploited and feeling real pressure from a capitalist plan called global oppression.
It’s exhilarating to experience the truth that I am not alone! Others like me will stubbornly never give up the resistance. Others believe that together we have power. Uniting like this gives hope to the hopeless. Together we have the power to dismantle capitalist structures, we just need to believe it. Working class people having to first unite and then push towards socialist revolution is hard, but Spring is an easy choice for me. I remember on a sunny day joining picketers at the CNE, one comrade took the words out of my mouth when they quietly stated: “What else would I be doing with my time?”
Revolutionary journalism
Socialist transformation hangs its boldest hopes on revolutionary journalism. That’s where Spring Magazine enters the scene. Our publication exposes realities of what workers are dealing with in different sectors across continents; outlining our strategies and tactics; celebrating our wins; recording our losses. You may have already experienced a dire need for socialism in your life situation. Why not become a socialist correspondent that so many in town or across borders can relate to? Spreading the vision for a fair system of people over profits is the perfect way to share solidarity.
Spring Magazine’s revolutionary journalism helps to align Spring’s vision with socialists everywhere. Our intention is to promote socialism and true democracy- for the benefit of everyone. Spring Magazine leads us to focus on the tactics and how to apply different ones depending on the issue. It helps us to examine both our wins and our losses which gives insight into how to organize for the next fight.
Organizing is the key to empowering working class people. Building up our confidence in the fight for dignity and human rights is the change that the world needs. When do we need change? NOW! So join now, and spring into socialism.
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