EXCELLENT writer though Michael Fry is, his love affair with capitalism blinds him to the darker side of it (An independent Scotland based on socialism is recipe for a failed state, June 29).
Capitalism as practised in the UK and USA in particular, exposes the uglier characteristics of human nature – greed, selfishness, exploitation, callousness; all combined with a supercilious disregard these qualities have on fellow citizens who were not born with their advantages, whatever they may have been.
Conservative ideology has always been designed to keep working people subject to poor housing, hunger, inadequate education, and wages at a level only for subsistent living.
Capitalists take all the advantages of an advanced society, but often contribute little to the commonality. With the help of dubious accountants, lawyers and offshore banking they avoid or evade taxes. They are in essence, parasites.
So why do socialist (or indeed communist) countries not succeed? For one very simple reason; capitalist countries do not allow them to.
There are and have been many socialist countries which were and are dictatorships, but there have also been democratically elected socialist leaders in Iran, Indonesia, Chili and Egypt.
All were snuffed out by the CIA in collusion with reactionaries in those countries; usually with the loss of many lives by torture, murder and other atrocities. And just don’t get me started on all the other countries of Central and South America.
In spite of all the black arts of the CIA being employed against the democratically elected government of Venezuela, the common people are ensuring that it survives. Whilst the socialist regime in Cuba is a dictatorship, generally speaking the people are very happy.
As in any society there are greedy malcontents, but when I was there I saw no poverty in Cuba, no foodbanks and no homelessness. Education, housing and an excellent health service are all subsidised by the state; indeed, Cuba sends doctors to trouble spots all around the globe. All this in spite of CIA efforts and a 60-year US trade embargo.
So, Michael challenges us to say what socialism is in the 21st century. Like capitalism, it is many things to many people.
My vision of socialism is a society where no-one suffers from lack of decent housing, warmth, food and healthcare. With the exception of healthcare (for now) too many UK citizens are denied these basics; so how are the wonders of capitalism helping them?
I also believe that certain utilities should be publicly owned such as power, water, railways, the internet and mail. All these privatised utilities (with the exception of water in Scotland) make obscene profits for the owners, sometimes subsidised by taxpayers.
While I believe anyone should be able to own land and property, perhaps controversially I think the letting of these should be illegal as it is just another way of parasitical profiteering.
Michael seems to expects us to accept his preference for a capitalist society, but will not acknowledge that democratic socialism would be successful if it was allowed to flourish without malign interference. Maybe contrary, but I hope Michael keeps writing for The National!
Richard Walthew
Duns
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