Thread by @docrussjackson

How long before it's illegal to support any left-wing Party or criticise capitalism?

US libertarian billionaires scapegoat & demonize ‘Big Government’, 'identity politics' & the Left, using propaganda to manipulate citizens into voting against their interests, so they can continue to exploit workers & nature.

The Global 1% have so far siphoned off $158 TRILLION.

They put vast resources into fueling the "culture war", which acts as a distraction, & an ideological assault on the values of fairness, justice & equality by promoting individualism, while keeping voters divided so they can continue their corruption & exploitation uninterrupted.

One of the greatest illusions of modern times has been to trick millions of voters into believing that billionaires, multi-millionaires & ex-commodities traders actually represent the interests of ordinary people - rather than becoming grotesquely wealthy from their exploitation.

America's richest 400 individuals have already amassed $3trillion.

But we humans struggle to conceptualise just what an extraordinarily large amount a $trillion is, so here's a fantastic visualization by @mkorostoff: I guarantee it will blow your mind.

mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/

And here's another very clear way of comparing what you can get for your $trillions:

informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations…

Is there a realistic alternative to rampant free-market #capitalism which depends on & is accelerating the consumption of finite resources resulting in the destruction of the natural environment, while increasing inequality of wealth & opportunity to grotesquely dangerous levels?

It's called #socialism.

The problem is that the very rich & very powerful (those who benefit most from free-market capitalism) have for a century poured vast resources into the #demonization of #socialism & #socialists, a view which now saturates print, broadcast & online media.

A common refrain is that #socialism INEVITABLY fails & leads to totalitarianism! A claim as absurdly reductionist as suggesting #capitalism INEVITABLY leads to financial crises & war. Why? Because PURE socialism & PURE capitalism have NEVER been tried, & imho, nor should they be.

The UK, the USA, & many other 'western' countries are all characterised as #capitalist, but in reality they ALL have 'mixed economies': the private ownership of businesses, mixed with publicly funded services, such as policing, the military, most schools, & some health services.

We MUST nurture a nation of politically aware citizens, capable of thinking critically, & of seeing past the hyper-capitalist #propaganda disseminated all day, every day, by almost every media outlet.

So here's an objective introduction to #socialism:

britannica.com/topic/socialism