Forum Text
author: Karl-Heinz Thier - 27.08.2002 21:13
After the beginning of the last century, Chief Womba of Leverville, a place
called after the founder of Unilever, the Dutch multinational company, collected
coconuts for Mr. Lever. Mr. Lever was earning a lot of money, as you know.
Chief Womba only had to deliver his coconuts for a good living. After a year,
he had all he needed for a good living: ten wives, a big village, pearls,
brass poles and so on. He no longer collected coconuts. Mr. Lever couldn't
understand this attitude. "Why didn't Chief Womba carry on collecting
coconuts? Every palm tree could be a full bank account for him."
Those who cannot stop collecting money, who regard striving for wealth as
an end in itself, ought not be responsible for adults, children, partners
of life, or the solidarity of a society, because striving for wealth destroys
human relations. Fear is governing such people. They are behaving irrational,
they are no longer in their senses because they need more than to satisfy
their sensual needs. If this fear develops into expropriation, into subordinating
men, at least two people are necessary: one who subordinates, and one who
is subordinated. Chief Womba didn't belong to them. The insane Mr. Lever,
however, found many other insane people on earth who readily complied with
subordination.
Those who like Chief Womba do not need wealth and industrialisation as an
end in itself, but only for the needs of a social being, do not feel at home
in capitalism. Foolishly dropped into this world, they feel lonesome in this
world of singles, relentless fighters, rogues, and traitors. Either they are
aware of this, or they deny living in capitalism. Those denying take to past
family structures as the conservatives do. Those aware of capitalism without
being insane think of new social structures of solidarity to maintain their
sanity among these insane surroundings. That's the dawn of socialism.
Thus it started two centuries ago. In the long run, however, the insane of
the socialist movement carried the day. They didn't want to live up to their
sensual needs only, but they were striving for bourgeois wealth and industrialisation
as an end in itself. They thought, capitalism could go together with socialism,
or, even worse, socialism had to compete with capitalism. They didn't think
of capitalism and democracy as an antagonism. Or they thought of having to
suffer this contradiction, no need to solve it, they thought themselves able
to oppose nature, natural laws, natural development, natural dialectics. Looking
for freedom in the sky, not on earth. Regarding the literature of Antoine
de Saint Exupéry e.g. as the price of industrialisation. Thus only
testifying that capitalist antagonism can be suffered only by the assistance
of priests, of culture.
Yet new generations were coming up again and again, sane people turned up again and again. So capitalism had to generate its material basis, i.e. insane people, again and again by violence, rape, war, stress, drugs. Most of the newborn wouldn't accept such insanity, so that the basis of capitalism was eroded more and more. This materialistic dialectics went on its way. The so called socialist movement, dominated by insane people, wasn't aware of this; turning Karl Marx into a priest, not relying in themselves as sensual and social beings, they ended up in fighting each other. The new socialist movement wasn't satisfied with abolishing kingship, installing a parliamentary system. They didn't want representatives acting for them, they wanted real democracy, acting themselves, without the assistance of political parties or a state. They didn't need any assistance, they felt sane, able to govern themselves at every level: councils at every level. They said: Wealth and industrialisation is no end in itself, not to be reached at cost of solidarity. First priority is given to physical and psychic wellness of each. Self-sustaining and sharing, no commerce. Human relations are no commercial relations. You cannot buy somebody whom you can rely. Beyond self-sustaining you don't need much for your happiness, look at Chief Womba.
Meanwhile socialism, surrounded by capitalism, has grown among people, although they are not aware of it. More and more people defy consumerism, have mentally given notice to their boss, prefer their family to their career, are free to love more than one if needs be, are free to choose their neighbours, free to let students decide what, where, when, how and by whom they want to be taught. A new socialist movement is to bring this unconscious socialism into consciousness by offering three steps into socialism worldwide.