A couple weeks ago I said in a sermon, “I advocate for political changes in the economy so that everyone can have a roof over their head, food in their belly, a job, free education and health care, but there is no political party other than the Socialists that advocate for the same.”
Afterward, I contacted Socialist Alternative Party candidate Kshama Sawant about being a socialist in a capitalist society. Socialism is something I think I want to hope for, but since I’ve never seen it work, I basically blow it off. The increasingly aggressive violence and barbarism of our capitalist society has prompted me to rethink this. This autumn, when we vote for those who create the policies that govern our life, in every case we’ll be electing capitalists to lead us. Insanity, Alcoholics Anonymous tells us, is the repetition of the same behavior yet expecting different results. So I wondered if socialism has anything of practical use to offer.
Running against Jamie Pedersen to represent the 43rd District in Olympia. Sawant is the alternative to business as usual but it’s an uphill battle. So why run?
To ask Kshama Sawant is to watch fire catch in her eyes as she passionately talks about real people with real hurts and no means to address those hurts. She considers her politics to be a moral crusade because the problems we face — unemployment, housing, education, debt, health care — are all solvable. There is more than enough wealth to lubricate a society, a commonwealth of people pursuing happiness and the general welfare. The key issue is a moral one. Is it just, is it good, is it decent and desirable, is it healthy, is it useful, is it practically workable for 1 percent of the population to control massive assets leading to opulence while the 99 percent struggle with an increasing proportion of folks falling down and being crushed by the weight of poverty and misfortune?
Sawant runs for political office because she wants to be part of the solution. She wants little things like the opportunity to have a public debate with her opponent, Pedersen. She wants to create the foundation of a political party that works from an entirely different moral base than what money can buy. She wants a society that provides a pathway for life-enhancing values, dreams and desires in the face of an increasingly vulgar and vicious predatory capitalism that is consuming both the American dream and also our hope for the future.
This is why I sat down and chatted with Sawant, and I want to encourage you to do the same. One good place to start is via the website socialistalternative.org.
Socialism might not be your cup of tea, but wouldn’t you like to at least see it be part of our public discussion about whom and what should lead us? Such debate is crucial for democracy.