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I believe in sharing of both power and wealth among all the people.
Thus I believe in a combination of democracy and socialism.
I also believe in balance.
People under both communism and capitalism suffer from their extremes.
I believe that the basic needs (food, shelter, medical care, etc.) of all people should be ensured, as long as society has the means to do so. At the same time, people should have the opportunity to choose between different types of work that may be more or less difficult &/or valued to different degrees, and also be free to choose how hard one wants to work, or how much time spent earning a living. Those who choose to work harder or longer or provide needed services most people reject doing, (such as cleaning up sewage or trash), should be given extra compensation for their extra efforts. Likewise, those who, (given equal opportunity), choose to study harder longer to learn to provide needed services (such as medical care) should also be rewarded for their efforts.
Thus, I believe in a system which distributes wealth much more fairly than extreme capitalism (as in the U.S.), but is also much more flexible in rewarding those who make more effort (as opposed to extreme communist states which have suffered from lack of individual motivation as well as lack of individual freedom.)
Furthermore, I believe that violence begets violence, and that the ends do not justify the means. I believe that the means, to a great extent, determine the ends. In the end, systems are just as limited by the limitations of human individuals, as individuals are by the systems in which they live. Individuals conditioned to accept revolutionary violence, will be prime to accept other violence in the future. As idealistic people push for positive and progressive change, emphasis on non-violent means is every bit as important as whatever ideal is held up for the future.
I believe that all of the people of the world are of one race: the human race. The human race does not consist of separate breeds the way dogs do. Biological race is a myth that was widely propagated to justify race-based slavery, and unfortunately, the propaganda campaign was so successful that most people in the U.S., if not in the whole world, believe that humanity actually consists of a number of biological “races.”
While “race” is a popular myth, culture, ethnicity and shared experience are social and historical realities. Race is a myth, but racism is quite real, and still quite prevalent in the Americas. This fact alone made Obama’s election to the U.S. presidency revolutionary, in terms of the break-through in the U.S. population being willing to elect a “Black” person, and in terms of the influence that this new societal reality will have on the population.
I believe in the immediate abolition of war and all nuclear weapons. I believe that the death penalty has no legitimate place in a civilized society.
I believe in the right to equal opportunities (and rights) for all people regardless of sex/gender, “race”/ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, degree (or lack) of wealth, occupation, and physical or mental disability. (Sometimes rights conflict, as in the “right to parent” vs. the right of each child to have a safe and nurturing home which meets all of their basic physical, mental and emotional needs. Another example is when the “right of job security” for an incompetant or unmotivated school teacher conflicts with the right of every child to a good education.)
I believe that life is extremely complicated, that people of high intelligence may have sharp disagreements on the best solutions to common problems,. I believe that (religious or political) dogma, as reassuring as it may feel to some, does not advance the cause of progress toward a truly democratic civilization made up of free-thinking individuals.
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