Seattle’s Socialist councilwoman on why capitalism offers nothing for young people

[Joe Shlabotnik]

snip...

Look at the fact that in the wealthiest country in the world, the United States, one in six people is under the poverty line. And the poverty line itself is grossly deficient. So when you say that in the U.S., around us, people aren’t hungry or freezing, that’s completely untrue. The number of homeless people is skyrocketing. Every single day I see new people who are homeless who weren’t homeless the day before. And you know who is predominantly affected by homelessness? It’s youth — young people who have no future. Capitalism has nothing to offer the younger generation.

We are going through the worst recession since the Great Depression. There’s been a small recovery, but this recovery is very shallow and it’s momentary. There is an abyss waiting for us around the corner, and don’t take my word for it. If you listen to what the IMF is saying, if you listen to the World Economic Forum, if you saw their discussions, they are all correctly afraid that the crisis is not over and there is no end in sight.

The reason they are afraid is not because they care about the people, but they are wise enough, the more intelligent among them, to understand that if they don’t find solutions to this crisis, then people are going to revolt, and that’s what they’re afraid of. And the fact that we had this major demonstration with hundreds of people coming out and demanding $15 an hour, it is not just about $15 an hour. If you ask any of these people here, their anger is deep. This anger is about an overall economic and social injustice and a realization that the system is not working for us. Whether they call it capitalism or not, people are understanding, people are not stupid, people get it. The question is, are we going to be able to rally a mass movement around these things? That’s the question.

Excerpt from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/seattles-socialist-councilwoman-on-why-capitalism-offers-nothing-for-young-people/

Related:

[TexasTowelie]

1. K&R since I was recently homeless.

Capitalism doesn't (or didn't) offer much for people in my generation either. I posted a thread on Monday in case anyone missed it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107817262

[Joe Shlabotnik]

2. I missed that post,

but I'm glad that I read it now. Glad that you're here to write it too.

Things are tough for many, young and old, and sometimes its hard to keep up the fight, especially when you begin to question what you are even fighting for.

[Starry Messenger]

3. ((hugs))

Glad you are here Towelie. I missed that post, thank you for telling your story.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. I missed the post too.

It was an amazing narrative. Through it all, you've always had compassion for others, and have an amazing resilience. I really hope things work out better for you.

It is precisely this kind of story, the story of people who played by the rules, who made major contributions to society, and were then discarded, that will provide the fuel for the massive social change that we so desperately need if we are to survive. We are indeed all in this together.

[socialist_n_TN]

5. And I ALSO missed your post........

My sympathies on your plight and your life-long battle with something out of your control.

Capitalism is a system that leads to a "disposable" type of culture for workers simply because "labor power" is turned into a cost benefit analysis. And as difficult as it is to do, you might as well not get mad at the practitioners of the system merely for using the rules of the system.

That's why unlike a lot of people, I don't use the word "greed" when talking about capitalism, at least not in a meta sense. Greed is a word used to describe a human feeling. When you talk about an economic/political/social system like capitalism if you ascribe human failings to it, you run the risk of thinking that changing actors will change outcomes. The truth is, you can change actors all day long and capitalism will turn those new actors into the old actors, more or less. It's the system that needs to be changed and not just the actors.

[TBF]

6. This is a great quote -

That's why unlike a lot of people, I don't use the word "greed" when talking about capitalism, at least not in a meta sense. Greed is a word used to describe a human feeling. When you talk about an economic/political/social system like capitalism if you ascribe human failings to it, you run the risk of thinking that changing actors will change outcomes. The truth is, you can change actors all day long and capitalism will turn those new actors into the old actors, more or less. It's the system that needs to be changed and not just the actors.

I agree 100%.

[socialist_n_TN]

7. Thanks T.......

Just to expound a little further on the "greed" reference in my post, when I say I don't use "greed" when I talk about capitalism, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't use that word in an agitational way if it were called for and that doesn't mean that some of the actors aren't "greedy". There are CERTAINLY individuals who take advantage of the laws of the system who ARE greedy. And there are some who are LESS greedy. But when it rubber meets the road (so to speak , more or less greedy actors don't have much of an effect on the overall systemic injustice and exploitative nature of the system.