Why I am a democratic socialist by Delilah Des Anges Aged 28 3/4s.
1. I do not believe that 100% of any given country are physically or mentally capable of supporting themselves financially.
2. I do not believe that 100% of the people who cannot support themselves have families or partners who can or will support them financially for their whole lives.
3. I do not believe that being unable to support oneself is a punishable offence, and I do believe that the care of the citizens of a state is the duty and responsibility of that state.
4. I believe that a healthy and well-educated workforce make greater advances to benefit their society than one which is kept sickly and ignorant, and I believe that the best way to keep a workforce healthy and well-educated is to make education and medical services available to all regardless of their personal wealth, funded by those who can afford to.
5. I do not believe that it is economically possible in a technologically developed society which has no manufacturing sector to employ the entire work-able workforce without "creating meaningless jobs" in the manner that is so frowned upon in state institutions by the private sector.
6. After working in corporations I do not believe that any private sector employer (or indeed public sector employer) will put the human needs and rights of their employees first unless compelled to by law.
7. I like to have the people who decide what happens in my country accountable to me and the other citizens of the country, not purely to people with an income above a certain level.
8. I do not believe that matters of human welfare should be clouded with the conflicting interest of turning a profit, which is often in direct opposition to what is best for the end-users of a public service.
9. I have met enough people living in what constitutes poverty in my country, and lived in it myself for long enough to know that poverty is not a choice and rarely if ever self-inflicted; I do not believe that punishment and fear of homelessness make it easier to escape from poverty.
10. Most of all, I have a horrible secret: I actually don't hate people enough to want them to suffer endlessly, and I don't think that anyone needs billions of pounds and five jets. I think that there are more important things for a country to care about than how it ranks financially, and I believe, as Orwell did, that a planned economy produces a more solidly successful country than one dictated solely by "the markets", a bunch of flighty hypercompetitive tosspots who take too much coke.
In other news I still don't buy that "choice" is the same as "freedom", and I don't buy that either of them are actually the same as "liberty", which is what I actually want; the ability to cricitise without fear of reprisal, but someone to say "no, you may not lick spark plugs".
2. I do not believe that 100% of the people who cannot support themselves have families or partners who can or will support them financially for their whole lives.
3. I do not believe that being unable to support oneself is a punishable offence, and I do believe that the care of the citizens of a state is the duty and responsibility of that state.
4. I believe that a healthy and well-educated workforce make greater advances to benefit their society than one which is kept sickly and ignorant, and I believe that the best way to keep a workforce healthy and well-educated is to make education and medical services available to all regardless of their personal wealth, funded by those who can afford to.
5. I do not believe that it is economically possible in a technologically developed society which has no manufacturing sector to employ the entire work-able workforce without "creating meaningless jobs" in the manner that is so frowned upon in state institutions by the private sector.
6. After working in corporations I do not believe that any private sector employer (or indeed public sector employer) will put the human needs and rights of their employees first unless compelled to by law.
7. I like to have the people who decide what happens in my country accountable to me and the other citizens of the country, not purely to people with an income above a certain level.
8. I do not believe that matters of human welfare should be clouded with the conflicting interest of turning a profit, which is often in direct opposition to what is best for the end-users of a public service.
9. I have met enough people living in what constitutes poverty in my country, and lived in it myself for long enough to know that poverty is not a choice and rarely if ever self-inflicted; I do not believe that punishment and fear of homelessness make it easier to escape from poverty.
10. Most of all, I have a horrible secret: I actually don't hate people enough to want them to suffer endlessly, and I don't think that anyone needs billions of pounds and five jets. I think that there are more important things for a country to care about than how it ranks financially, and I believe, as Orwell did, that a planned economy produces a more solidly successful country than one dictated solely by "the markets", a bunch of flighty hypercompetitive tosspots who take too much coke.
In other news I still don't buy that "choice" is the same as "freedom", and I don't buy that either of them are actually the same as "liberty", which is what I actually want; the ability to cricitise without fear of reprisal, but someone to say "no, you may not lick spark plugs".