One thing we can be sure of is that in the system of capitalism everything has a price. Though everybody would probably agree on the need to eradicate poverty, and seeing the effects of poverty should make us act on that poverty, to remove its devastating effect on human life. However this is capitalism so instead of working on the problem we have to run it through the calculator. Which tells us, surprise, surprise, we can’t afford to do it. Health care, hospitals threatened with closure, staff being under paid and facing redundancy, don’t look at the need, reach for the calculator, yeap, that’s right, we can’t afford it.
There are exceptions of course, war, at the start of the illegal invasion of Iraq, Chancellor Brown stated that it would receive what was needed, and £1 billion was set aside for the war, no such statement or provisions on poverty and health. By the end of 2010 the Afghan and Iraq slaughter will have cost the British tax payer £18 billion and rising. If we take into account for the social cost of looking after the wound etc it will be over £20 billion.. A lot of money to destroy a couple of countries and kill thousands of civilians.
Our military budget is over a staggering £33 billion annually. A small fraction of this fund for slaughter would solve all the funding problems of the national health service. That won’t happen, this is capitalism and war is good for corporate business and the state will see that its partner in crime, the corporate greed machine, gets all the help it wants. British businesses have already made app. £3 billion from this misery and carnage.
This country has the resources to see to the needs of everyone living here and sustain them at a decent standard of living but as long as we tolerate the state and the corporate greed machine to run the calculator over everything, they will set the priorities and human care and welfare will be well down the list. The profit motive will decide where the money and resources go, not the needs of the people.
We have a choice, we can carry on asking them to be kind to us and not be so eager for profit, which is what we do at the moment, or we can take control of society, forget the calculator and see to the needs of our people in a society based on mutual aid and sustainability. Another world is possible, but we can’t leave it to the shareholders, we have to do it. We won’t change the world by going to work and watching the TV and leaving the politics in the marble halls. Politics belong in the community and on the street, we the people should be the politics. What we have at the moment is a power structure to suit the corporate greed machine a society based on the shareholders priorities. A system that by its structure will deliver exploitation, deprivation and wars. Is this the legacy we wish to leave to our grandchildren?
ann arky’s home.
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