You Say You Want a Revolution... Now is the time!

After yesterday's class, Dr.Cummings question "Is there an alternative to capitalism?" kept floating around in my head. I do not understand why we accept capitalism as the only option, considering the vast amount of inequalities it breeds across the political, economic, and social sphere. I am not an economist or particularly passionate about economics, but what I do value and defend is equality, social justice, and the basic human rights of all beings. These things are simply not being valued in our society, especially in our economic system. 

So to add on to the first question, I propose another: "Why are we not challenging capitalism?" Why are we not critical of it? Why do we believe that is the most optimal system to follow? Marx and Engels may have an answer to this. They claim that the ruling class presents its interests as the common interests of everyone. “For each new class which puts itself in the place of one ruling before it is compelled, merely in order to carry through its aim, to present them as the only rational, universally valid ones” (40). Indeed, after feudalism and mercantilism were eliminated, the new system put forth (capitalism) took its place to impose new “common interests” and “achieve domination only on a broader basis than that of the class ruling previously”(40).

As I was reading both Marx/Engels and Althusser, I was brought back to Macherey’s argument that we cannot move outside of ideology because we are in it. Perhaps we are so immersed in Capitalism to the point where we are indeed not able to move outside of it and create or even imagine any other alternative. Althusser quotes “What thus seems to take place outside ideology, in reality takes place in ideology. That is why those who are in ideology believe themselves by definition outside of ideology” (48). The ideology of capitalism has become so pervasive throughout all facets of society that we, as its subjects, see it as reality and simply "the way things are." 

Marx’s statement “ It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness” struck a chord with me. I shared this with my friend sitting across from me and she nearly fell off her chair. We are not even in control of our consciousness. Friends, we need a revolution! We need to attain a state of awakening. Look around us; Capitalism is not working. Something needs to change….