Letters from Tomis

An ongoing series of reflections of my thoughts on historical materialism after reading What is Marxism: An Introduction into Marxist Theory by Rob Sewell and Alan Woods. The thoughts, opinions, and any errors are mine alone.

Human progress has always depended on our capacity to adapt, innovate, and think critically about the systems in which we live. At every crucial juncture in history, societies have been forced to confront the glaring inadequacies of their economic and political arrangements. Today, we are faced with just such a moment, where the reigning orthodoxy of capitalism—long touted as the apotheosis of human ingenuity—has shown itself to be an unrepentant purveyor of inequality, ecological destruction, and moral bankruptcy. The question, then, is this: where do we go from here? I suggest we turn to socialism—not as an empty slogan or an impossible utopia, but as a practical and necessary framework to take society forward.

To begin with, we must dispense with the caricatures. Socialism is not the gulag, the breadline, or the bureaucratic dystopia conjured up by the fever dreams of Cold War propagandists. It is, at its core, the idea that the economy—the sum total of the goods we produce and the services we provide—ought to serve the needs of the many rather than the whims of the few. It is an appeal to decency, reason, and the undeniable fact that human beings flourish when they cooperate rather than compete to the point of exhaustion.

Capitalism, its apologists insist, has lifted millions out of poverty. This is true—though one should not mistake the leaky life raft for a seaworthy vessel. What capitalism giveth, it taketh away with ruthless efficiency. The same system that produces wealth on an unprecedented scale also ensures that it accumulates in the hands of a vanishingly small elite, leaving billions to subsist on scraps. The gig worker delivering your dinner, the single mother juggling three jobs, the farmer displaced by corporate agribusiness—these are not outliers but the necessary by-products of a system that prizes profit above all else. Is this the best we can do?

Socialism offers an alternative—a society in which resources are allocated according to need, not market whims; where workers have a genuine stake in the enterprises they sustain; where the profit motive is tempered by a commitment to public welfare. One need only consider the example of universal healthcare, a hallmark of socialist policy, to see its potential. In countries where healthcare is treated as a right rather than a commodity, people live longer, healthier lives, free from the fear of medical bankruptcy. Contrast this with the American model, where life expectancy lags behind and citizens are forced to crowdsource their medical bills on GoFundMe. Tell me, which society is more civilized?

But socialism is not merely about redistribution. It is also about reimagining power. Under capitalism, democracy is a hollow promise; political systems are subordinated to economic ones, and the ballot box is no match for the boardroom. Socialism seeks to democratize not just politics but the workplace itself, transforming employees into stakeholders and corporations into cooperatives. Imagine, for a moment, a world where workers are no longer cogs in a machine but architects of their own destiny. It is not a pipe dream but a logical extension of the democratic ideals we claim to cherish.

Critics will object that socialism is incompatible with human nature, that we are inherently selfish creatures who thrive on competition. This, of course, is nonsense. Human history is a testament to our capacity for altruism, solidarity, and collective action. From the abolition of slavery to the labor movement to the fight against apartheid, progress has always been driven by those who reject the status quo and demand a fairer world. To dismiss socialism as unworkable is to dismiss the very spirit of progress.

None of this is to suggest that socialism is a panacea. Like any system, it is susceptible to corruption, inefficiency, and the folly of those who implement it. But unlike capitalism, it begins with the premise that human life is valuable in and of itself—not as a means to an end, not as a resource to be exploited, but as the very purpose of economic activity. This is the moral revolution we need.

Socialism is not an abandonment of liberty but its fulfillment. It is not the enemy of innovation but its ally, freeing human creativity from the shackles of profit-driven calculation. It is not a denial of individual ambition but a recognition that ambition flourishes best in a society where basic needs are met, where education and healthcare are rights, and where the fruits of our labor are shared equitably. In short, socialism is not a retreat into the past but a bold step into the future.

As George Orwell, no stranger to the failings of capitalism, once wrote, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” The case for socialism is not an abstraction; it is there in the hospital ward, the homeless shelter, the polluted river, and the factory floor. It is there in every place where the human spirit is crushed under the weight of a system that values profit over people. If we are serious about taking society forward, we must recognize that the path runs not through the gilded halls of Wall Street but through the streets and fields where ordinary people build the world every day.

Let us begin.

Note: This concludes my series of reflections on historical materialism as found in Sewell and Woods What is Marxism. They conveniently have divided their content into three sections: dialectical materialism, historical materialism, and Marxist economics. I’ll be tackling the Marxist economics topic next. By the way, I, again, highly recommend the book for those that are interested in these topics.

Sewell, Rob, and Alan Woods. What is Marxism? Wellred Books, 2004.