I would like to thank David Siano for giving me the opportunity to explain what socialism is and is not. Without his recent my turn (Sept. 1, “Teacher fails entire class”), I would probably not have thought to do so.
Socialism is not a system where everyone makes the same wage, or averages their grades. It is a social system where no one person’s ability to live a decent and fulfilling life is determined by their income, or race, or nation of origin, or gender or sexual preference. In an ideal socialist society:
■No person goes hungry. Everyone has the economic and social access to a basic healthy diet.
■Everyone has shelter. No one goes unhoused. No one would live on the streets or move from shelter to shelter.
■Everyone has high quality health care.
■Everyone has equal access to high quality education throughout their lives.
■Everyone has equal access to the legal system. No one is above the law no matter how wealthy he/she/they might be, whether they are immigrants or native born, regardless of the color of their skin or their gender or sexual preference.
■Everyone has equal access to nature and natural resources. Natural resources are not simply present so that they can be exploited by the wealthy or the powerful.
■Corporations do not have more rights than people and must explain how their efforts within the society benefit the common good.
■Socialism makes sure that the basic building blocks of a good, healthy and productive life are available equally to all. The welfare of each person within the society is paramount within a socialist system. If any portion of the society has significantly more privilege or significantly less, a socialist society is out of balance.
A socialist society does not “legislate the poor into prosperity.” It assumes that everyone has the right to a basic living wage. A socialist society assumes that everyone works, whether in or outside the home and that for their work, they should receive just compensation. You are correct that the “government cannot give to anybody anything it does not take from someone else.” But if the social compact is that it is important for everyone to have common access to the basics of life, and the wealthy are a part of that compact, then it is not “taking”; it is sharing the common wealth of the country.
Under socialism, it is understood that everyone works. The question is what kind of work? In our capitalist society, the work of those who take care of children and the disabled and infirm at home are not valued as workers. Socialism values them and gives them a wage for the role they play in society. Socialism does not support the idea that people should sit on their duffs and not work. To the contrary, it understands that our essential workers should be recognized for the “essential” roles they play with pay that is commensurate with their importance in the society.
So what about that salary (or grade) thing that was part of the teacher’s experiment? Where democratic socialism thrives, people do not make the same wages. Rather the range of allowable wages is limited. Wages cannot go below an amount necessary for a meaningful and healthy life. They cannot go so high that they skew the way society functions. If the average wage in a nation is $40,000, a democratic socialist country might limit (through taxation, for instance) an executive’s salary to no more than 20 times that average wage. Surely, $800,000 per year is enough to live on and provide the incentive toward excellence that you are so concerned about. Of course, that assumes that the yardstick used to measure that excellence is the amount of money you make annually or the amount of wealth in your trust fund.
See, that’s the other thing about socialism … the yardstick is different. It is not about how much any individual makes, or who gets an A on the exam. It is about the health and welfare of the society as a whole. And that is why your student project example falls flat. It left out an important part of the exercise. Students were not given the opportunity to figure out collectively how they might work together to raise all of their grades so they could all do well.
You see, Mr. Siano, the keys to socialism are cooperation and collaboration, not competition. Both you and the teacher missed the point.
Susan Worgaftik is a resident of Greenfield.