Private charity will never cure capitalism’s ills. Only working-class organizations can do that.
By Patrick Stall / Jacobin
The holidays are upon us. ’Tis the season of altruistic volunteers in Santa Claus hats ringing bells outside local Walmarts and synagogues hosting food drives. Toys for Tots bins will overflow with trinkets and teddy bears, and Christmas carols blaring from shopping mall speakers will extol the virtues of giving to the deserving poor.
This all seems perfectly appropriate. We are bombarded with images of starving children and pleas to help those who can’t afford to heat their homes in the winter. As Oscar Wilde remarks in “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” it is “inevitable that we be strongly moved” by the plight of our fellow humans, and feel compelled to take immediate action against poverty and suffering. A dollar in the Salvation Army’s bucket or a monthly pledge to OxFam seems to be the least we can do when we’re surrounded by so much unnecessary human misery.
But, as Wilde notes, “this is not a solution: it is an aggravation of the difficulty.” [Read more...]
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