Dear Editor,
Brandon Samaroo in his blog on SN stated, “The bottom line is and I have stated this time and time over again Rajendra, no system is perfect none, but the capitalist system is the only one by far that has been successful and allowed poor people to change their social, economic and political system.”
I read this blog and I wondered how many think like him. I wondered at the kind of literature and media one would have to be exposed to conclude in this manner. And I wondered if such persons ever read any serious literature in relation to these issues.
First, Brandon accepts that there are shortcomings with regard to both systems and I am wondering whether he or anyone would encourage the debate to enlighten us as to the positives they appreciate in each and also a listing of the negatives that allow them to fall short of perfection. I recall in the heyday of the Cold War we were being bombarded with the idea that we should utilize the best of the two systems.
With regard to his position that capitalism is the only one by far that has been successful he needs to give some explanation. One of the most unfortunate things for many intellectuals that have left our shores and even those who still reside here, is that they look at the lifestyles and the benefits that accrue to them in America, Canada and the UK and somehow or the other conclude that capitalism is good and argue strongly against any possible replacement. They do not even attempt to reform what they consider as negatives within the system, seemingly with an absence of any vision and creativity. Somehow or the other their blinkers do not allow them to appreciate global capitalism, imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism.
They just cannot seem to see, or do not want to acknowledge that it was unscientific to compare the achievement of Russia to America. America would have been developing capitalism, with the utilization of slaves. It was, is, an imperialist country benefiting from the exploitation of other countries. It is very unscientific to ignore the presence of over 170 relatively poor and very poor capitalist countries.
While America was building capitalism from the 17th century, Russia moved from a very backward country in 1917 to a superpower. It moved from a situation of 90 per cent peasantry to a relatively powerful industrial country and from a position of 90 per cent illiteracy to full literacy and one of the best education systems in the world, according to the UN.
While in the past only the children of the landlords could have attended universities, after the Revolution the universities were churning out graduates who came from working class homes.
I really wonder why the people who enter this debate do not realize and take into account that there are over 170 poor capitalist countries. That in capitalist countries 10 million children die of poverty related factors, and that a billion are without potable water. I wonder if they cannot recall that in order to protect their capitalist class the imperialist countries led by the USA have removed so many elected governments and placed into power so many of the bloodiest dictatorships.
Anyone who knows history would recognize that whenever the people of any other country attempted to change their economic structure away from capitalism their governments came under attack by the rich capitalist imperialist countries. These rich countries recognize that the changes contemplated would reduce the ability of their transnational corporations to carry on unbridled exploitation of the people of those countries.
The imperialist country usually attacks in the name of democracy and removes democratically elected governments and replaces them with puppet dictators. They are too numerous to list. Burnham here in Guyana is one example. Can you imagine democratic USA actually incited racial riots to achieve its goal? Look at what big money is doing in the USA. They control the media and on top of that they pour billions into paying lobbyists and in bribing state officials and in paying for a floodgate of ads to fashion the minds of the people. Look at what big money does with regard to healthcare reform. They actually made Obama into a socialist.
A billion people are without basic needs in the modern capitalist world in the presence of the high level of technology that we possess and that we can develop; 10 million children in the capitalist world dying of poverty related factors is wrong. Are we refusing to act on this knowledge? Do we have a lack of vision and creativity that prevents us from dealing with this high level of inhumanity, of dealing with this level of de-humanization of people? Can we not penetrate the corporate indoctrination? Apparently not, as they even refuse to accept it takes place.
Yours faithfully,
Rajendra Bisessar
