The government are to be congratulated for banning discussion of the abolition of capitalism in schools.
This will greatly stimulate curiosity in the young and open-minded about what is being withheld from them and give those of us who want to replace capitalism opportunities for clarification.
We can point out that, unlike its twentieth century and current debasements, a sound project for holding society’s resources in common is not only compatible with democratic practice but actually requires it. We can introduce the idea of historical specificity, the fact that social systems are not everlasting and our own will come to an end, however permanent it may seem.
We can insist that capitalism is to be lauded for the productive potential it has fostered. Finally, we can encourage the thought that where a social system allows a few billionaires to flourish while many more people starve – and not as an aberration but as a direct and continuing consequence of its central profit-seeking dynamic – then it is time to devise better ways of organising human affairs.
Keith Graham
Keith Graham
(text of a letter sent to the Guardian)