By Gregory William
Deep poverty is on the rise. The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world. Every year, police kill nearly 1,000 people, mostly people of color. Sexual harassment in the workplace is commonplace. Both Democrats and Republicans slash every program benefiting working people, while wasting our money on war. We are hit by one economic crisis after another.
We know things don’t have to be this way. We can fundamentally change society by overthrowing capitalism and building socialism. These problems do not come out of nowhere: They are byproducts of capitalism.
But what’s the basic difference between capitalism and socialism? Does it make sense to have a society where there are a handful of mega-wealthy billionaires, and the majority of people are just scraping by? Couldn’t we workers run the society without bosses, and make decisions that benefit the majority? Do we really have a “democracy” or do the rich just buy the policies they want?
We Need Socialism!
Under socialism, ordinary working people like us run the institutions of the society, including the government. Major property (like factories, infrastructure, and hospitals) are owned collectively by the people. There are no billionaires hoarding all the wealth and running things for their benefit alone. When workers make revolution, all of this becomes possible. We wouldn’t have high rents. We could make sure that health care, education, childcare, and housing are guaranteed free human rights! This is not simply a pipe dream. At one point or another in the past century, working people from Russia, to China, to Cuba have taken power, and proved that things can be different.
New Orleans, Cuba, and Hurricanes
In 2018, in socialist Cuba, people are in fact guaranteed to have access to health care, education, childcare, and housing. Cuba is a “poor” country compared to the United States, but there are no homeless encampments like we have here. LGBTQ rights are enshrined in the law. Cuba’s infant mortality rate is lower than ours. All of this is well-documented by trusted global institutions like the World Health Organization. But I want to focus on the issue of hurricane response. The difference between the United States and Cuba couldn’t be more extreme, and it shows the superiority of socialism over capitalism in a way that is important for us in Louisiana. It is a matter of life and death.
All of us are familiar with the failure of the government to respond to hurricanes Katrina and Rita and Maria. Over 1,400 people died during these storms, and millions more were displaced throughout the Gulf Coast. In the aftermath, the city, state, and federal governments colluded with corporations to turn New Orleans into an experiment in the most mercenary forms of contemporary capitalism: public housing demolished, Charity Hospital closed, and public education destroyed. Puerto Rico still has not fully restored electricity, jobs and income
In Cuba, on the other hand, the whole society is mobilized to deal with hurricanes, and the aftermath is about recovery, not greed. Hurricane preparedness drills take place regularly everywhere. The focus is on risk-reduction with an integrated response from local fire departments, health, transportation, and other public services. Before storms occur, government officials, police, and military personnel help people move their personal property to safer locations. The government also guarantees replacement of all lost property.
Cuba has a fraction of the wealth and resources of the United States and is directly in the path of many storms. Almost no one in Cuba dies as a result of tropical storms and hurricanes, gets evicted, or loses pay. The past 17 major hurricanes to hit Cuba only resulted in 35 deaths. When Katrina hit Cuba, only two people died.
The socialist organization of society allows for the possibility of tackling major problems. The Cubans decided to take on the problem of storm preparedness, which is essential for the island. Such a massive reorganization is impossible in the U.S., where people are intentionally isolated from one another and the motives of the ruling class are based in profits. It is socialism which gives to people the means to bring about progressive change.