Susan's blog

Hope for the New Year: The Past Does Not Predict the Future

by Susan Rosenthal

All stock promotions include this caution, "Past performance is no indication of future performance." Today’s hot stocks can be worthless tomorrow, because no one can predict the future. Neither the stock market nor the weather can be predicted with certainty, and none of us can know for sure where we will be next year.

The only constant in life is change. I grew up during the 1960s, a time of great social change. Blacks, women and gays were marching for their rights. Workers were winning higher wages and benefits. America was being defeated in Vietnam. Yugoslavia was intact. Germany was divided. And computers were found only in science labs.

Just a few decades later, the world has changed dramatically, and so have people’s expectations. My parents expected me to have a better life than they had. I do not expect my children to do as well as I have done. I entered adulthood with great hope for the future. My grandchildren wonder if the world will last long enough for them to have children.

Given so much change over such a short period, I am amazed when people insist that change is not possible, that the past does predict the future, for individuals and for society.

Consider these common statements: You can’t change human nature. Once a criminal, always a criminal. We tried socialism/communism, and it didn’t work. You’ll never get people to cooperate, demonstrate, rebel, etc.

Such pessimism serves as a self-fulfilling prophecy that blocks change. When we expect nothing to change, then we do nothing to create change.

Only the ruling elite benefit from this massive failure of the imagination. They can stay in power as long as they convince the rest of us that capitalism is the only possible social system, so that it is futile, even reckless, to want anything else.

Like all ruling classes that came before it, the capitalist class wants to rule forever. The only change they want is more capitalism. They organize society as if there were no past, no future and no consequences. Only today matters — today’s sale, today’s profit. We all know the consequences: environmental devastation, epidemics of preventable disease, endless wars of acquisition, and a juggernaut of greed that tramples human lives across the globe. Their dream is our nightmare.

Dare to Imagine

Fortunately, the past does not predict the future. Civilizations come and go. Empires rise and fall. Capitalism will also give way to new social formations. Another world is possible.

Not all choices are available. We can’t turn back the clock. We can only go forward. And we didn’t choose the conditions into which we were born and in which we must struggle. Nevertheless, we can make choices today that will change the future.

We can choose to believe that we can move beyond capitalism and class divisions. We can choose to believe that the majority have a common interest in pulling together. We can choose to imagine a future that is good, even wonderful!

Knowing our past is essential to changing our future. To discover who we could become, we must know how capitalism has shaped us to be who we are now. By appreciating the problems that our ancestors solved in the past, we can gain the confidence to solve our problems today.

Because the future is unknown, we cannot predict if our efforts will succeed. We can choose to act anyway, in hope, instead of surrendering to pessimism, passivity and despair.

The past does not predict the future. The future is ours to shape, by making choices today that will bear fruit tomorrow. Let us dare to dream of a better world — a caring, sharing, truly democratic world. Let us take those actions today that will bring that world one step closer.

Read POWER and Powerlessness. Available at www.powerandpowerlessness.com

Psychopaths in Power

by Susan Rosenthal

Either George W. Bush is a psychopath or he does an excellent imitation of one.

The President claims that opponents of the war against Iraq, whose children are at risk, are too emotional to see things clearly. In fact, human morality is rooted in emotions or "gut feelings" that move us toward what is right and away from what is wrong. Without emotions, there would be no anger in response to injustice and no shame in behaving badly.

The American Psychiatric Association defines a psychopath as someone who meets at least three of the following criteria. The President meets all of them, as do the leaders of both political parties who push the same heartless, self-serving policies.

• failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest (bombing Iraq, domestic spying, approving torture).

• deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, or conning others for profit or pleasure (lying to justify invading Iraq, altering reports on global warming, standard business practice).

• impulsivity or failure to plan ahead (believing that Iraqis would welcome a foreign invasion, destroying the environment for short-term gain).

• aggressiveness as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults (preferring military force over negotiation).

• reckless disregard for the safety of others (Katrina, Iraq).

• consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to honor financial obligations (failure to fund essential government programs).

• lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another (too many examples to list!).

Capitalism requires the people in power to behave like psychopaths. Empathy and compassion would make it impossible to trample human lives in the race for power and profit.

When authorities flaunt their disregard for human life, it seems as though humanity as a whole has no compassion. In reality, the people in power are sick freaks who do not represent the majority.

Human beings are born compassionate. Infants will cry when they hear another baby cry, but not when they hear recordings of their own cries. By 14 months-of-age, toddlers will try to soothe other babies in distress. At 18-months-of-age, youngsters are eager to help adults. And the number one character trait that both men and women seek in a potential mate is kindness.

The war mongers are more like reptiles who have shed their humanity. They have no problem devouring their young.

For more on this subject see POWER and Powerlessness, Chapter 2, "Compassion Isn’t Cost-Effective." Available at www.powerandpowerlessness.com

Are You a Communist?

by Susan Rosenthal

Who doesn’t love the idea of community? Community implies friends, neighbors, belonging, cooperation, and sharing. The term "communist" gets no such love. The question, "Are you a communist?" is equivalent to asking if a person is a serial killer, a wife beater, or a child molester. Why does society embrace the concept of "community" and revile those who want to create community by abolishing class divisions?

The answer lies in the difference between words and actions. The powerful people who run the world have no problem with the concept of community. George Bush and Condoleezza Rice frequently talk about the "international community," but it’s just talk. If they wanted a real world community, they would not invade other people’s lands or build walls along the U.S. border. To sustain public support, they must talk as if their intentions are honorable when their actions reveal otherwise.

The capitalist class has always lied to secure power. During the French Revolution, the capitalists were too weak to overthrow the aristocracy on their own, so they mobilized the working population to fight for Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood. However, the two classes define these things very differently.

For capitalists, Liberty means freedom from restrictions on trade and commerce, Equality means an end to the privilege of birth (replaced by the privilege of money), and Brotherhood lasts only as long as it is profitable. For working people, Liberty means freedom from exploitation and oppression, Equality means no class divisions, and Brotherhood means a sharing society. None of these is possible under capitalism. Once the capitalists secured power in France, they called a halt to the revolution and slaughtered the workers who insisted on fighting for their freedom.

Real community threatens the ruling class so much that it will unite with sworn enemies to prevent it. During the Franco-Prussian war of 1871, as the Prussian army advanced on Paris, the French king abandoned the city and fled with his troops to Versailles. Determined to defend their city, the people of Paris organized the world’s first democratic government, the Paris Commune.

The Paris Commune was a government of the people for the people. During the two months that it existed, the Commune disbanded the police and armed the population. Abandoned factories were reopened under workers’ control, and plans were made to provide free education, equal pay for women, and day nurseries. The word "communist" was first coined to describe supporters of the Paris Commune. Around the world, the elite and their supporters spat this word with fear and contempt, while working people embraced it with pride and hope.

The French monarchy could not tolerate a people’s government in the capital city, so it made a despicable deal. France agreed to cease its war with Prussia on the condition that the Prussians allow the French army to enter Paris, destroy the Commune, and retake the city. Not anticipating such treachery, the Commune was crushed.

We must learn the lessons of history if we want a real world community and an end to war. Those who divide in order to rule are not threatened by talk of a sharing society. They will, however, try to discredit and isolate all who actually try to build it. That leaves us with the real question: Which side are you on?

For more on this subject see POWER and Powerlessness, Chapter 9, "The Lies That Bind Us" Available at www.powerandpowerlessness.com