Why Socialism?

"The real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development". These are the words of Albert Einstein, published in the first issue of Monthly Review, an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City; established in 1949, Monthly Review is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States.

That one quote by the best known scientist of modern human history should suffice as an adequate answer to the question posed in today's title, which is also the title of Einstein's essay published in Monthly Review in May 1949. Also, if you've read my posts on Steemit, Trybe or Hive, you should already know why it's imperative for humankind to evolve beyond capitalism; almost all major problems that lay at the root of most human suffering can be explained through a critical analysis of the socioeconomic paradigm that centers around the private ownership of capital coupled with the need to make a profit. Although capitalism and socialism are generally viewed, and discussed, as purely economic systems, one of the major revelations to be gained from reading Einstein's essay is that they both are in fact at the center of a holistic world view. This world view or philosophy is derived from "the human experience" in the case of capitalism and, as stated in the quote from the intro, we're still in the "predatory phase of human development". Here's what Einstein has to say about that:

" most of the major states of history owed their existence to conquest. The conquering peoples established themselves, legally and economically, as the privileged class of the conquered country. They seized for themselves a monopoly of the land ownership and appointed a priesthood from among their own ranks. The priests, in control of education, made the class division of society into a permanent institution and created a system of values by which the people were thenceforth, to a large extent unconsciously, guided in their social behavior."

And here's the opening quote in its entirety, explaining why so little can be said with certainty about any possible socialist society of the future:

"Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development, economic science in its present state can throw little light on the socialist society of the future."

I've only recently read Einstein's entire essay; in the past I've only read snippets and quotes lifted from it and was always deeply impressed by the wisdom contained in them. But reading the whole thing from start to finish I'm pleased to see that it's an amalgamation of many things I've written about in the posts published on the blockchain based platforms I've mentioned before. I invite you to do the same, dear reader, and read the essay Why Sopcialism? in its entirety, especially if you're still hung up on our current socioeconomic arrangement of so called free market capitalism; it's only three pages short and I can all but guarantee you'll be enriched by its consumption. For those of you who'd rather listen to someone reading it to you, please start the below linked video which will only cost you the cheap price of not even 20 minutes of your life. Oh, and here's the link to the free online version of Monthly Review; this month's issue has an interesting essay on COVID-19 and Catastrophe Capitalism...

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, keep safe, keep healthy!