 Now that I have learned about Marxism, a philosophy that places the workers – the proletariat – as the most important part of any economy, and not the company owners and their managers – the bourgeoisie – I am inspired to bond with everyday people. My experience in a union as a doctor has been quite an eye-opening experience. The comaraderie that we working doctors have developed to address managerial intrusions into our medical practice has also inspired me to urge all workers to unionize. The other day, picking up some take-out food, I even urged a sweet Olive Garden employee to trade numbers with her co-workers in other Olive Gardens to unionize, to be a strong voice to handle work stress, abusive managers, schedule changes, benefits, and pay raises, etc. I could see the lightbulb in this young woman's head as she contemplated organizing. I felt good encouraging a complete stranger to strategize with her co-workers to problem-solve. Some say unions are corrupt. Yes, some maybe have corporate-captured leadership, but the potential for life-changing solidarity is worth joining a union. Who knows? Maybe your charisma, your voice is just what your union may need to push for better work conditions. These words: comaraderie, solidarity are the crux of what we need in the world–unity! After seeing the success of Amazon and Starbucks unionizations, I have come to realize that our real problem, our real enemy, is not one another, but the corporations and the politicians they buy. Marxism has taught me that a worker's labor should not be taken for granted and that there is strength in numbers. Unity is the opposite of individualism. Unity requires a connection between people to create a collective. This unity excites me because it's the only thing that can defeat the total world domination that a handful of corporations have today. Corporations, businesses like those in Big Oil, Big Technology, Big Banks, Big Pharma, Big Beef, Big Weapons Manufacturers, etc are literally ruining all life on Earth, via environmental pollution, political bribery, resource and wage theft. I'm convinced we workers do not need CEOs and administrators to tell us how to do jobs that we are very capable of optimizing ourselves. This Marxist understanding has given me a new love for America. We, the 99%, who aren't billionaires and hundred millionaires, have much more in common with each other - regardless of our political and social identities, than with the 1% that is price-gouging all goods, products, property, real estate for an immoral profit. Why is Marxism or some anti-corporate ideology so important to spread all over America? Because American capitalism “looks good on paper” but is actually the destruction of all local economies due to monopoly or oligopoly (rule by few). Aren't Amazon, Walmart, and Target literally destroying all local competition in your town? Doesn't McDonald's, Burger King and other gigantic corporations, have the best real estate to run their restaurants (many times, multiple restaurants in the same town) pushing out the mom-and-pop diners struggling to make a living? Have you seen the corporate domination of farmlands in Southern California, where average families have little chance of owning any farming land to make their own organic food? Did you know Bill Gates owns more farmland than anyone else in America, to make his patent-ready GMO food? Why did Apple disadvantage apps on its App store, and favor Apple apps, if capitalism is supposed to be some fantasy-world place of free market competition? Marxism, the unity of workers to demand better wages, work conditions, and time off (vacations, weekends, better shifts, pensions), shouldn't be a dirty word in America. But unfortunately it is. Can we agree that sending troops to Vietnam, to “stop Marxism/Communism”, was immoral and completely backfired resulting in thousands of suicidal veterans forgotten by the capitalist leaders who sent them to kill kids and spray poison on basic food, like rice? Even when I'm discussing or disagreeing with people on line, no matter how much we may disagree, I always keep in my mind that this person is not the enemy, and the real threat is the greedy corporate system that requires poverty to lure desperate workers back to jobs with immorally low wages, while billionaires get richer and richer, even through worldwide pandemics. Marxism has even helped me to not blame a low level worker for poor service at a restaurant or store, but instead to blame the upper management for understaffing the kitchen/floor, underpaying the workers, and passing on the abuse from top management down to the workers who do all of the grunt work for a business. I hope that you read up more on Marxism and learn to use it as a tool for American unity like I have done. AuthorThis article was produced by Udit's Substack. Archives July 2023
2 Comments
Ross Coyle
7/25/2023 10:03:09 pm
Really great piece!
Oliver Gibbons
8/19/2023 05:36:21 pm
Hey, Leave a Reply. |
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