http://marxiststudent.com/solidarity-with-south-african-students-feesmustfall/
This article was taken from a website kept by a group of students in England in support of Marxist ideas worldwide. They write a series of articles about social movements all over the world from this perspective. This article is written in criticism of the Republic of South Africa and supporting the student movement of fees must fall. The government stated that fees would not rise again after 2015. However, the fees have been raised multiple times since then. Students started this movement to demand that university must be cheaper in order for more students of color to afford a higher education and bring an end to the racial/economic divide left over after the end of Apartheid in 1994. The article also sites government corruption and bribery occurring in the country. The article also discusses the violence that is being done against the students in these movements.
In class we have discussed the Marxist ideals. I did not realize these ideals were still alive and well within the world but this website seems to show otherwise. I became familiar with this movement while I was at a University in South Africa and witnessed the anger and frustration with the current governmental policies surrounding higher education. The students who write this website work to educate people about how inequality and corruption is causing suffering throughout the world. This inequality is causing divides, violence, and revolts in many countries throughout the world. In my view, inequality is not the answer to the economic development of individual countries or the world as a whole. Equality should be the goal as it assists in the development of people as well as industries and countries. Marxism is an ideal way to view the world but that does not mean it is not to be strived toward.
I believe Marxist ideas cannot function within a state because of the amount of power leaders have who plan to enforce it. Yes, it may be an ideal situation for there to be equality but I believe it is even more impossible through Marxist views. Leaders will eventually give more to themselves than its citizens. This then leads to inequality where the leader enforcing marxist ideas ends up taking care of himself and people close to him. The citizens of a state in this case of no chance to so call step up the ladder leading them unhappy. Therefore Marxist ideas lead for more inequality than for example capitalism. Capitalism may allow for only some to succeed but it at least gives people the chance to strive for success and not to be complacent.
ReplyDeleteOne of the fundamental problems with Marxism is that it doesn't derive from the idea of freedom of choice. It is rather spawn from coercive force, a force taken upon by a government who establishes this ideology amongst citizens. Stephen has a good point here where history has shown that the leaders in control of everything do in fact exploit power and don't work in the interests of ordinary citizens. There is an extent to which government needs to regulate, but Marxism has proven time and time again to be far too much of an extreme.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stephen. I believe that communism has its inherent flaws, mainly that the leaders take advantage of their power. Often in marxist societies, the political elite live in luxury, while others live in terrible conditions. This is because in a marxist society, a system is created that allows the political elite to do as they wish. If you look at any communist society, the rulers like above the laws they create and do not abide by them.
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