The Fight of Our Lives
On February 4, 2016, an article in the New York Times by Eric Schmitt titled, “Obama Is Pressed to Open Military Front Against ISIS in Libya” demanded more U.S. intervention in Libya, and billions more dollars to carry that out.
I was surprised the Times published this comment I wrote:
“War, bombing, brute force of violence, oppression and austerity for the masses here and everywhere else are the modus operandi used by capital’s power elite (currently centered in the United States) so that the wealthy can conquer and rule the world. No wonder our children are killing each other over turf wars. It’s what our government does routinely while spending trillions of our dollars—our money—the money of the masses—the wealth we produce through our labor—on war, police oppression and incarceration to preserve that wealth in the coffers of the .001 percent.
It’s not a matter of “evil people;” it is a matter of an inherently evil, unequal, dictatorial, economic system—capitalism—where those with the most accumulation of wealth rule through force of violence to protect that wealth; and to protect their right to accumulate more no matter who else suffers. All the laws serve to funnel that wealth into their coffers.
We need a fundamental, economic, political and social change that will democratically redirect that wealth to fulfill the needs of all the people and the planet we share.
Capitalism can’t be reformed. It is a force unto itself. It must be dismantled and replaced by a truly democratic economic, social and political system where we, the masses of working people, control that wealth that we produced and use it to the best advantage of all of us, and our planet. That’s what socialism really is.”1
It’s not for lack of money that our infrastructure is left to crumble. It’s that the money is being used to fortify the wealthy and arm and command their dominion over us. The fact is, the only hope to defend ourselves, and win this war capitalism is waging against us, is if a democratically unified army of the working class brings them to their knees. Our victory will end these wars; a capitalist victory will end the world.
1 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/world/africa/isis-libya-us-special-ops.html?comments#permid=17454253