Workers Solidarity Movement

Believe a better world is possible. Don't be afraid to dream. We all know this isn't good enough. How could it be? Are we not destined for so much more? Have we not seen glimpses of what we are truly capable of? This could be paradise. It really could be.

Margaret Thatcher, former UK prime minister, was fond of bragging that 'There Is No Alternative!'. Settle in you plebs, there is no way out, this is it. Capitalism is the only way - and not only capitalism, but capitalism in its most feral neoliberal form.

And not only that but state domination, and the assault on our persons by an arsenal of tyrannies: sexism, racism, queerphobia, ableism, and more.

Indeed this is the best defence of the capitalist system, for what else could be said in favour of such a harbinger of global misery? What other excuse is there for the systemic churning up of Earthly beings, than the 'fact' that life cannot be any other way?

What a load of utter crap. Starvation, torture, rape, toil, incarceration, murder, ignorance, subjugation and command - humanity's final destination? As if. Not only can our society - our lives - be better than this, but the potential is greater than we can actually imagine. Hopelessness is one of the greatest weapons of the powerful, and we whip ourselves with it. For once you stop believing that there is an alternative, there ceases to be one.

So believe a better world is possible, a world of palpable freedom, joy, understanding, co-operation. Imagine living in that world. Know that it's worth fighting for. If we join together we can achieve it, that's why we must be kept apart, and pitted against each other. I will overthrow this system if you will. The line between barbarity and liberty is thinner than you think.

Who wants to work then die? Who wants to be bossed around all their lives? Who wants to bury their hopes again and again, because they don't fit into someone else's scheme? This human being doesn't, and neither do you, and neither does anyone else if they're honest about it.

It could be that we were truly screwed, that humans were basically selfish, grasping creatures who do not care for others. Thank goodness we don't live in that universe. Humans are deeply social animals who seek community and thrive on being altruistic (when given the chance). We have boundless talent, and have rebelled against oppression for as long as history has been recorded. And we have thought long and hard about alternative societies, and even tried to implement them against all odds - for instance the Spanish Revolution of 1936 where millions of people lived under libertarian socialism.

Why do we little people have to be minor players while a few powerful humans dance around the planet shaping our futures according to their whims? The answer is we don't. They walk upon stilts, and we can knock them down.

One computer pioneer's favourite saying was "the best way to predict the future is to invent it." The first step to collectively inventing a brighter future is believing that it is possible. Never, ever, let anyone let you think otherwise.