I think I might be a Socialist . . .

I think I might be a socialist. I have soulcrushing debt, no health insurance, and I’m underemployed – the only job I can get barely pays me enough to make rent, which increases every year. I come home from work every day so exhausted that I only have energy left to watch mind-numbing reruns on ABC Family Channel, or I get sucked into 24-hour news shows. It’s hard to tell which leaves me angrier. This is not the life I dreamed I’d be living, but the economy is so deep in the toilet right now, I don’t see any hope of things improving. It doesn’t make sense. There seems to be enough to go around for everyone. We have all this technology, all this brainpower, to build an economy where nobody gets the short end of the stick. But some people are getting richer and richer while most people are in situations like mine. It seems like some major changes need to happen, more than a few reforms or new jobs. I’m interested in learning more about socialism, but I don’t know where to start.

If you feel this way, you are not alone. Hundreds of thousands of people are fed up with the current economy that leaves them strapped for cash with no safety net. If you’re interested in learning more about socialism, there are lots of sources we recommend. A big part of the struggle against capitalism is study. But that’s not all. We agree that the change needed to fix things needs to be big, even, dare I say, revolutionary. And none of us can do it alone. The beauty of socialist struggle is how much it emphasizes community and solidarity. None of us can just sit in our rooms, being socialists. You might be interested in joining organizations, ones that put the social in socialism. It’s through making connections with others, learning about each other’s struggles and experiences, that we deepen our commitment to changing the world.

This post is also available in: Spanish