I remember learning about Palestine and Iraq from my parents and other news sources, and understanding there was an inherent bias in the news presented to us. In addition, I remember learning about how the British colonized India, how terrorism had encumbered Pakistan and various other countries, in addition to seeing and learning about homelessness and poverty and feeling so helpless. It was only until university, however that I began to really understand that the root of these issues is capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system that promotes the free market and competition, failing to account for exploitation and other inequities. It fosters a vicious culture of greed and corruption, and determines that human value is based on what we produce. As someone who is disabled,
I was also hyper aware of the rates of homelessness among disabled people and how difficult it was for many to find meaningful work in this extremely ruthless world. However, communism and Karl Marx were always presented to me as extreme and irrational, as if capitalism was a more moral and rational system to build the world upon when there are children in this world who are eating grass to survive. Marx believed that communism would help liberate workers, including the poor. It would do so by abolishing private ownership, thus allowing for collective participation and ownership. According to Frederich Engels “It will, in other words, abolish competition and replace it with association.” I think it is important for everyone to do research on socialism and communism; it is clear that something needs to change, and we all need to begin to understand the world through a different lense.
Source: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm#ne