Without placing labels on our desires and values, without restraining our imagination, what other worlds are possible?
I have lived in Los Angeles most of my life. I have witnessed homelessness, starvation, and death. I dedicated my time in college to learn about the mechanizations behind such suffering. My degrees in Anthropology and Environmental Studies gave me an understanding of the societal structures that allow for it. I was jarred. This did not make sense. I grew up learning the importance of sharing, respecting each other’s space, and celebrating each other’s differences (with the help of PBS and the Scholastic Book Fair). Sure, some people were poor, some were rich. I knew things like racism existed, but I was taught that only people were racist, mere individuals. Calm conversations and dialogue can address that, right? How was I to know that organizations, institutions– entire systems– are racist too? This was counter to the social contract I thought we all had agreed to.
Our implicit submission to our capitalist society has upheld the oppression of our less-privileged brethren. Capitalism works on the principle that growth (profit margins) is exponential. But the resources and labor used for growth are not. We live on a finite planet. Forests, fresh water, clean air, fertile soil, and open land do not oblige by the rules set up for capitalist interests. The lack of consciousness about the systems at play has made it easier for us to forego long-term success for short-term pleasures. The newest iPhone is a mine collapse in Goma, Congo that claimed the lives of 200 people. Those silly AI-videos are cancer-causing pollution for communities in Memphis, Tennessee and billions of gallons of fresh water consumption. Unfettered industries behind greenhouse gases are floods, drought, and wildfires in the southern hemisphere. The companies using our precious resources, polluting our Earth cannot continue under the guise of “economic growth.”
There is a widely held belief that these structures are inevitable and we are powerless to stop them. I am reminded of the author Ursula K. Le Guin’s quote: “We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings.” We learned of the rise and fall of monarchs and empires. Supreme dynasties that lasted hundreds, if not thousands, of years, that reveled in riches and pleasures beyond conception, much like billionaires today. Yet, they have come to an end. My imagination led me to dream of communal societies where basic needs were provided so that everyone had the opportunity to develop their talents while also contributing to the collective. I was encouraged to believe anything was possible only to be told later in life that I am “idealistic.” Is this supposed to be an insult? I am able to envision a world that is not dictated by a power-starved few because I strive for better for every single person on this planet. If that means starting off by sacrificing a new gadget, avoiding the ease of artificial intelligence and making my life less convenient, so be it. It is time we have those awkward, difficult and sometimes unsafe conversations to pull against the prevailing attitudes and cultures behind fascist systems that are holding us back. I may be idealistic, but I am most certainly not complacent with fighting over the scraps dropped from a billionaire’s table.
We are living in someone else’s ideal society which only benefits an insignificant percentage of the world’s population. Large swaths of the population in the United States are merely surviving, living paycheck to paycheck, facing high food prices and rent while $59.3 million in taxes are spent daily on military operations against Iran. What would our immediate community look like if that money were instead allocated to healthcare, education and basic necessities like food, water and shelter? If our society– instead of corralling some of our brightest minds to developing weapons, war and industry– invested in them to develop equitable distribution methods and proper resource allocation algorithms, would my idealist society be feasible?
I found myself asking, what can I do? Where do we start? I lessened the overwhelming sensation of hopelessness by educating myself on the motives behind the systems we live by and reintegrating myself back into my community– like the one I shared as a student in a classroom. I am stronger, wiser, braver and more focused in a collective. I recognize the resilience of my neighbor, learn from our human history and seek to help however I can in my every day. Humans were not predestined to live in a capitalist society. Now more than ever we must open our minds to the changes needed for the preservation of the human race. It is our moral duty to let our imaginations run wild. As children, we had to ask hundreds of questions to understand how the world works. Now, as adults, we should ask how the world can work better.