Justifying My Socialism (?) - An Examination of My Class Privilege

* Polite Notice: I promise neither Marx nor Engels will be "intensified", only slightly highlighted. I also understand that this is a sensitive topic, so I have tried to address it as such. If you feel I haven't, please leave a respectful comment below. I am open to dialogue and growth.*

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic (I would have to reference this at least once in this blog), class divides are becoming increasingly apparent as income streams dry up and wealth is redistributed. Many, literally millions, around the world are struggling to survive because they have either;

• Lost their primary source of income or;
• Seen a drastic decrease in the value of that source or;
• Are forced to enter hazardous work environments in order to receive that income or;
• They have no savings to rely upon (and we high key live in an economic system that ties your ability to survive to your wage - oops 🤷, I tried to keep Marx out).

Yet, and somehow concurrently, the rich are getting richer. Their income streams are not impacted because of the immense privilege we have. When I speak of "privilege" I refer to the special advantages or entitlement, benefits one type of individual or actively hurts, or is exercised in detriment to an "other." It is also linked to social and cultural forms of power. (Black & Stone, Expanding the Definition of Privilege: The Concept of Social Privilege, 2005). 

So being able to work from home, or save your income, or avoid engagement with criminal justice systems or being able to advocate for your economic interests, with the knowledge that you will be heard and that change will happen, are all examples of class privilege I actively benefit from. Class privilege refers to the advantages that result from being of a certain economic class. Some of these advantages are easier to notice; I listed some of them at the beginning of this paragraph. Some are super obvious (i.e. the college admissions scandal that highlighted the explicit means through which wealthy parents buy admission for their children while not addressing the, far more common, implicit methods favoured by the wealthy like donations (*cough cough Jared Kushner cough cough*), and legacy admissions). Others are not. Like being able to order groceries online, or being able to work from home or believing in the myth of meritocracy. 

And while I’d like to think of myself as enlightened, I no doubt take my class privilege for granted too. I did not earn my place at the elite international schools or universities I went to. Nor did I earn the relative comfort with which I live. That is something my parents worked hard to give to me, so I was born on second base and, it is likely that my children, should I have any, will be born on the third. Recognising my privilege is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do because as an African Woman, it was easy of me to, strategically, shift my focus to that part of my identity, instead of the middle-class part, because I did not want to be an oppressor. I had to contend with the ways I exercise my privilege, consciously and subconsciously. From the paternalism that used to characterise my community service efforts to, microscopically, the places I may suggest when I'm meeting up with my friends, my privilege is pervasive. Even now, as I am underemployed, underpaid and strapped for cash, my privilege cushions me from the full impact of that reality.

So how do I deal with that? How should I deal with that? 

The first step is, obviously, educating myself on my class privilege so that I can be more aware of its impact on my life and the impact it has on the lives of others. The second was to listen to what people were saying and acknowledge that the differences between our experiences are exacerbated by my privilege. The third, which is what I find most interesting, was work together to mitigate and, hopefully, resolve the impact of this privilege; using my privilege as a bullhorn. Naturally, talking about levelling the playing field resulted in a discussion of why the playing field was unlevel, to begin with, which led me to socialism. Now, at this point, I want to avoid the philosophical discussions that permeate socialist thought and, instead, turn to examine my justifications for aligning myself with this ideology.

On one level, it could be said that it is the result of guilt. I feel guilty that the only reason why I am capable of surviving a capitalist system, in which one's ability to survive is directly tied to their ability to earn a wage and the providence of that wage, has nothing to do with me or my efforts, but everything to do with the circumstances in which I was born. And while, yes, there are rags-to-riches stories that provide hope and inspiration to many, those stories are outliers and massive systemic change is needed to normalise and democratize those experiences. Conversely, I am a socialist because it makes sense. To my mind, socialism is focused on people and their well-being, while capitalism is focused on profit. People, and their well-being, are tangential to that ultimate goal and if they interfere with that goal, they will be jettisoned (i.e. child labour, NBA and Hong Kong, the silence on the ongoing genocide in China, colonialism, slavery). Once again, it is important to note that I am not a blind idealist and I am aware that similar atrocities have occurred in the name of socialist thought and I am against those too.

So where does that leave us? To be honest, lost for a unifying conclusion, but nevertheless, we persist. Am I worried that socialism is mechanism for me to deal with my guilt? Yes, I am because it suggests that should an alternative, less demanding, mechanism come into play, I may jump ship. But have I worked to justify my belief in socialism through academic and ontological exploration, of course. I truly believe that socialism is a way to dismantle class privilege and while that may mean that I loose the benefits I currently enjoy, and while that also scares me, I still believe it's worth it if it means more people get to survive in our society.