Every Labor Day we revisit the failure of capitalism. Now more than ever the destructive narrative of capitalism is on display with the criminal greed being seen in our corporations and government. 

The post originally appeared on September 7th, 2015.

What do we really celebrate on Labor Day? History says that the day started as a reaction to the Haymarket Massacre in 1886. The deaths in Chicago that day brought to light the struggles of workers nationwide. Demonstrators at Haymarket Square that day were rallying for an eight hour work day. When we go back and look at how the heads of capitalism treated their workers, who were US citizens, it is frightening. The labor movement needed to strike, rally, and demonstrate just so the capital owners would treat the workers like real humans. We celebrate Labor Day because workers needed to demand, and risk their safety, for a humanity that the capital owners were not willing to provide.

Capitalism is anti humanity and it is not allowing us to socially evolve, it is time for a new economic system. The people at the very top of our capitalistic society are large carnivores that get rewarded for anything that they can consume. There is no humanity to the capital owners. We celebrate record stock markets, and forget we have such a small volume of people participating in the market. We complain about welfare queens, without accepting that some of our richest CEOs get their salaries enhanced by government subsidies. The devourers at the top of the economic food chain have made the people below fearful and reverent at the same time. Capitalism is not allowing us to grow as humans, it is keeping us in cages like the animals that the capital owners need to control.

The way capitalism is sold to the general public is through use of code words like freedom and opportunity. In the world of today there is very little opportunity or freedom for the people not at the top of the capitalism food chain. The use of freedom and opportunity have their roots in trying to keep people non-empowered. If you want to go out and start your own business, you do have that freedom. If you have a great idea that can change the world, you have the opportunity to pursue that dream. Our modern capitalistic system does throw up every hurdle imaginable so the current capital owners have a say over your success. The system allows for the commoditization of people who can steal and exploit other people's work. The defenders of capitalism use opportunity and freedom as defenses for these patent trolls. Capitalism does not create ideas, it creates ways to steal great ideas and give them to the carnivores at the top.

The idea of commoditization has reached a truly dangerous level in our society. We have used capitalism to justify putting a price on the our most important human needs. Healthcare is one of our largest, and wealthiest, industries. We all accept that doctors should be well paid because of their skill and necessity. Our ability to get healthcare, through insurance, is directly related to our income. That is insane. Medical care is a necessity for everyone in the world, why should it be a commodity? Why do we not question this? Most doctors are not builders and creators, they are administrators. When you go to the doctor, it is for maintenance or to discuss something out side of the norm. Your income level rarely dictates the maintenance you require. Your income level can directly relate to the need for a doctor when there is something outside of norm. Lower income people have more severe, treatable, medical issues because of how capitalism financially elevates doctors. Basic human needs like healthcare are not a commodity. Capitalism has set a value to our lives, that is anti-humanity.

The ability to communicate has been the greatest tool for social evolution. The printing press created a new world filled with scientific and social advances. The internet is just getting its legs, and changing the entire world for the better. Many of the innovations related to communication were not done in pursuit of economic riches. The internet was created by the government, and nurtured by the social system, to become the tool we use today. The engineers of the world create things that not only maintain society, but allow it to grow. The Wright Brothers looked to the government for support before they looked to the capital owners. Roads, rails, and bridges are designed and built by engineers with government support, not private business support. Why is it that the government has allowed business to commoditize basic needs like communication? The rise of the telecom deregulation was another sacrifice at the idol of capitalism. We have been told that private business can handle our communication better than the government funded engineers who built the network. Our reward is one of the worst communication networks in the developed world. The telecom companies get their money, the CEOs get their large paydays, and the citizens get a subpar product thanks to the tenets of capitalism. The telecom companies do not have any concern for our ability to communicate, their concern is only to gain money. Our government, and our cultural programming, have allowed for basic communication to be another commodity to be bought and sold. Due to capitalism the more wealth you have, the better communication available.

Capitalism is a wall that stops innovation. The ability to create a commodity out of basic social needs is a large problem. Your health is not something that should be paid for. Your voice and ideas are not things that should be granted by a company with no creators. Capitalism exists to give freedom and opportunity to those already established, and make sure the non established have very nearly no options to compete. We deserve the right pursue our dreams, and not be hampered by our inability to pay for health or communication. Everyone deserves freedom and opportunity.

Capitalism is one of the most destructive forces in history. We need to have a discussion on how to replace this carnivorous ideology with one that rewards innovation and creates an evolving society. In the future we will continue to discuss the pitfalls of capitalism, and start to formulate an ideology that will bring about a brighter future. We encourage your dissent and contribution. Your ideas are not a commodity. Come share them with us.

Happy Labor day. Enjoy this day of rest and remember that protesters died for the right to have a reasonable work schedule. Let us use this Labor Day to start a new movement. The old capitalistic ways need to be repealed, the replacement will produce true opportunity. We can find this new way forward together. The only thing we will lose are the cages the capitalists keep society in.

RD Kulik

RD is the creator and Head Editor for SeedSing.