Or: What’s right with Capitalism?
I was scrolling through Facebook last night, checking out reactions to my recent piece on Jagmeet Singh, when I chanced upon an utterly charming reaction that called Jagmeet a “piece of s*** – Marxist to the core.”
Naturally, I couldn’t resist jumping in. Out of curiosity, I threw down the gauntlet: “What’s wrong with Marxism? What’s right about Capitalism?”
I was expecting reactions like I’d just proposed replacing hockey with synchronized knitting. Or tons of comments about “freedom,” “you communist/fascist/libtard,” and my apparent need to move to North Korea.
And I wasn’t disappointed. After many hours of “thought”, the poster replied, “You are the problem with the decline of Canada. There’s s*** hole communist countries already. One of them is obviously more suitable for your leeching ways.” Sigh.
Still, it got me thinking: why is Marxism such a dirty word for some people, and why does capitalism get a free pass when it’s clearly the messy roommate we’ve all learned to live with?
Let’s start with the obvious. Marxism is not a flawless system waiting to save us all. I do know where rigid, extreme applications of Marxist principles can lead—hello, totalitarianism/communism. Thanks, but no thanks!
However, I’m good with some of the principles of Marxism in the form of democratic socialism. For example, I’m good with the idea that maybe—just maybe—we should focus less on hoarding wealth and more on, I don’t know, making sure people don’t die because they can’t afford insulin.
Oops! Never mind. Insulin is now paid for due to the Pharmacare bill created by the centrist Liberals and the socialist NDP.
Unrestrained capitalism, on the other hand, is like a toxic ex who promises the world but just keeps breaking everything. Sure, it gives us a plethora of shiny gadgets, endless entertainment, and two-day shipping. But it also serves up billionaires profiting off minimum-wage workers, environmental disasters that make “Mad Max” look like a documentary , and housing markets so inflated you’d think landlords were competing in an episode of ‘Extreme Greed: Home Edition’.
“But capitalism creates opportunity!” they cry. Sure, if by “opportunity”, you mean having the “freedom” to work multiple jobs just to afford rent. And let’s not ignore how unregulated capitalism increasingly prioritizes profits over everything else—the planet, our health, and our sanity. How many record-breaking heatwaves, catastrophic wildfires, and healthcare bankruptcies (like the hundreds of thousands of Americans who face financial ruin due to medical bills every year) does it take before we start asking, “Is this really working?”
Democratic socialism— derived from some Marxist principles—contends that people should matter more than profit margins. Call me idealistic, but I think it’s okay to believe that everyone deserves access to healthcare, education, and a basic standard of living. If that makes me a radical left-winger, hand me my beret and a copy of “The Communist Manifesto.”
Now, before your accuse me of wanting to live in some dystopian commune, let me clarify: I’m not a Marxist. I’m not a Communist. I’m not against innovation or hard work, but I am against the idea that your worth as a human being should be tied to your bank account. I’m completely against systems that let a handful of people amass grotesque wealth while others can’t afford to feed their families. And I’m utterly against the myth that capitalism is some untouchable wonder system we can’t question.
If my wanting to explore societal options other than unrestrained Capitalism makes me a Marxist/Communist/Libtard, so be it. But, I think it’s time for us to grow up past the “isms” and recraft a society that is feasible for all of us – not just the uber-wealthy. We can learn from previous thinkers of all stripes and take what is good from them. If we don’t, I fear we are done for as a species.
In closing, to the person who called Jagmeet a “piece of s*** Marxist”: Thanks for the inspiration. Because while you were busy hurling crude insults, you reminded me why I’m okay with socialism or shades of it. It’s not about overthrowing the world or rejecting all forms of enterprise. It’s about recognizing that we have the power to fix our mistakes by questioning our social constructs. Cheers!
About the Author
‘Democratic Socialist’ is a a tautological misnomer and the DSA are better described as social democratss: they are socialist in name only.
The word socialism, as originally used by the followers of Robert Owen, appeared for the first time in their Co-operative Magazine of November 1827 and meant common ownership (not nationalisation or state capitalism). The American Marxist Daniel De Leon understood this and saw socialism as a revolutionary change in society. He explained: ‘As a poodle may have his hair cut long or his hair cut short, as he may be trimmed with pink ribbons or with blue ribbons, yet he remains the same old poodle, so capitalism may be trimmed with factory laws, tenement laws, divorce laws and gambling laws, but it remains the same old capitalism. These ‘humanitarian parts’ are only trimming the poodle. Socialism, one and inseparable with its ‘antirent and anticapital parts,’ means to get rid of the poodle’ (Daily People, 2 November, 1908).
I’ll read more about it. Thanks.