Letter to the editor

Large companies deprive citizens

This past week, there was yet another letter to the editor, this time questioning Socialist Alternative’s approach to achieving democracy. The writer criticized the idea of taking the top 500 corporations into public ownership.

Major U.S. corporate empires influence every aspect of our political and social lives -- from who gets elected to what is played on our TVs and radios. Such powerful entities should not be controlled by a board of directors solely concerned with maximizing profit, but rather by the people.

As socialists, we support democratizing the economy by taking these corporations that dominate our lives under democratic workers’ control. This is the only way to bring accountability to the major economic decisions that impact our everyday lives. What is meant by “true democracy” is an expansion of rights far beyond what capitalism is capable of allow- ing. This is what was characterized in last week’s letter as
“stealing.”

We argue that the real thieves in this country are the rich elite whose profit-driven agenda fills our world with war and poverty. The working class currently props up this elite by the sweat of our collective brow; mean- while 50 million American workers go without access to health care. In a socialist society, the wealth created by our labor could be used to fulfill the needs of society. These include such things as: free public edu- cation through college, safe public transportation and socialized medicine under democratic control.

It is extremely difficult to communicate ideas in 300 words or fewer. For more complete information than these letters allow, I would encourage anyone with an interest in socialism to attend a Socialist Alternative discussion meeting. These meetings take place every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Cooklock room of the Davee Library. Otherwise, consult our Web site at socialistalternative.org.

Brett Hoven
student