Embrace socialism

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Regarding the Letter of the Day for Tuesday, February 21, titled 'Capitalism lifts the poor', while the success stories of capitalism are all wonderful when regaled as examples of its benefits to society, one must remember that the socialist system of China (not to be confused with the communism of the misnomer USSR or the DPR Korea) has fostered the growth of the world's economic superpower. It has also spawned the highest concentration of multimillionaires and billionaires.

A curious glance at Jamaican history would remind us that much of our current middle class, as well as a number of our upper class, owe their ascension to the socialist system of Michael Manley's 1970s government.

This system, which offered free education, as well as corrected many social ills related to patronage, allowed many to escape a future of poverty and deprivation.

The socialist policies of many Western European nations have made them very attractive to poor ex-colonials looking to 'lift' their lives and get their part of the wealth generated by their forefathers' labour.

Socialism, well practised, can do more for the poor than capitalism, whose main tenet is "using your fellow man to achieve your goals".

ANDRE D. BROOKS

andre.dominic.brooks

@gmail.com