It is in the interest of profit to keep needing and wanting. Sociology dictates that human beings have some understanding on how to advance their self-interests. History's case examples demonstrate the profit-interest in action. The presence of monopolies was not noticable in the economy until the necessary boost provided by the industrial revolution. A sharp rise in productive ability was accompanied not by a greater distribution of the social product, but a burgeoning elite class. These are economic relationships that have always existed. To quote Adam Smith...
We rarely hear, it has been said, of the combinations of masters, though frequently of those of workmen. But whoever imagines, upon this account, that masters rarely combine, is as ignorant of the world as of the subject. Masters are always and everywhere in a sort of tacit, but constant and uniform combination, not to raise the wages of labour above their actual rate. To violate this combination is everywhere a most unpopular action, and a sort of reproach to a master among his neighbours and equals. We seldom, indeed, hear of this combination, because it is the usual, and one may say, the natural state of things, which nobody ever hears of. [*3]
The possession of property by the economic elites in the United States has remained virtually unchanged in fifty years. Though there are numerous cases such as 3COM, PGE, Enron, and countless other corporate disasters, it is still argued by many that these are exceptions to a general rule. It is not simply a matter in the distribution of wealth, but a matter of directing the operation of the economy in a means that benefit the whole. A free enterprise economy values its success according to a single indicator: profit. To raise its value, it can only lower the living conditions of the rest of society. When the industry is owned and operated by the masses, then can we expect the abuses of a profit-driven economy to cease. The right to work, a fair part of the social product, and a voice in directing the means of production -- all of these are the economic rights of Communism. Totalitarian dictatorships that seek to establish the Socialist economy are bound in their own hypocrisy. Centralizing power and authority in politics couldn't be accompanied by anything but the centralizing of power and authority in society, culture, and of course, the economy. Communist China, Cuba, and the USSR had simply turned their economy into state-run capitalism. These nations never granted their people the rights of Socialism; on the contrary, these states simply re-established themselves as the new class. Communism cannot be realized through government, but only on its ruins.
*1. "Political Economy," by Simonde de Sismondi, 1815, Chapter 7.
*2. "The Lords of Industry," by Henry Demarest Lloyd, 1888.
*3. "The Wealth of Nations," by Adam Smith, 1776, Book 1, Chapter 8.
Through the study of history and the heroes of the Humanitarian movements, and the millions in each protest of Direct Action, that related to the liberation of others, I can only come to the conclusion that we are destined for a civilization where cruelty is non-existent and where the crumbs of superstition are among the rubble of the past. The belief in this destiny is accompanied by the conviction that conscious beings naturally seek justice, liberty, and peace. Then I left my library, my computer, and my research, and I became a squatter. My father expressed to me personally, that he believed me to be hurtful, hateful, and dangerous, and not welcome in his house. I trekked out into the world with my real family, those I share more than just fickle blood with. On the streets, I met drunkards and addicts, many of them vultures without conscience. I had stolen food for them, befriend them, treated them all well. But when I was taken to jail for Criminal Trespassing (I was sleeping in an abandoned building), they looted my things. I cannot wholly blame them -- the only mode of existence is supported by beggary and theft. The corporations are to blame, as the prices of goods are too high, and the jobs pay too little. Many of my street friends attempted to have jobs, but they were paid poorly, under the table, and my closest street brother (Pockets) was fired from his job for eating food on the ground. My faith in humanity had never been so smashed than by the betrayel of these men and women. Many of them were good, in that they were friendly, cheerful, and kindly. I found the two faces of mankind, and learned more of being homeless in a day than in my life of being homed in a year. And I thank my friends and family of the street for their uncompromising support. For Pockets, who I was released from jail with, and for his brotherhood. For Stray, for her cute, affectionate nature. For Humble, and always treating me as family. For Jeff, and his promise of my safety in every dark alley. For Twitch and Violet, who have wronged me in some ways, but have shown great Altruism to me. To the men and women whose names escape my mind, for their actions which will never escape my heart, for the experience of being with them which will never escape my mind.
